Municipal services strike day to demand improved working conditions

Basque municipal employees will go on strike this Thursday, May 14, seeking an agreement to enhance their working conditions.

Generic image of a microphone on a negotiation table.
IA

Generic image of a microphone on a negotiation table.

Municipal services in the Basque Autonomous Community will experience disruptions this Thursday, May 14, as employees go on strike to seek an agreement for improved working conditions.

Closures are anticipated in municipalities such as Usurbil, Hernani, Oñati, Arrasate, Bergara, Ordizia, Beasain, and Zumarraga, with significant participation expected in many other local councils. The strike has been called by the LAB and ELA unions, with over 120 workers' committees joining the initiative.

"They will demand that EUDEL and the political parties EAJ, EH Bildu, and PSE-EE improve working conditions at the Udalhitz and municipal tables."

A spokesperson for the LAB and ELA unions
The unions have highlighted that municipal employees in the Basque Country have gone many years without an agreement to improve their working conditions. They point to a lack of demands at the Udalhitz table and the inactivity of municipal-level negotiation frameworks, which has led to a year-on-year deterioration of workers' conditions.
Last year, the Udalhitz negotiation table was launched, opening the possibility of agreeing on working conditions that had not been renewed for 16 years. However, according to the unions, the political parties in municipal government have yet to present a comprehensive proposal and have accepted employment and salary measures imposed from Madrid.
The last negotiation table took place on May 7, but insufficient progress was made in the proposals from EUDEL and the political parties. They have criticized the slow pace of negotiations and the lack of specific content. Following a two-hour work stoppage on April 23, the strike day was called for May 14, and a second strike day has already been announced for June 4.