Public service strike called
More than 250,000 employees called to strike on December 12
There will also be stoppages in the fields of healthcare and education
CCOO and UGT have agreed to call a 24-hour strike across the entire public sector on Wednesday December 12, in response to the proposal made by the Generalitat at the October 31 meeting. At this meeting, the Catalan government proposed that the supplementary wages that did not go out in 2013 and 2014 be paid out over a period of eight years. The unions want at least 10% of the 2013 payment before the end of the year, they also demand a calendar for getting back the 2013 and 2014 supplementary wages over the next two years and for the reinstatement “of all the rights that have been taken away in recent years,” according to CCOO.
Supplementary wages for these two years are estimated to amount to about 1.1 billion euro.
The call to strike is extended to public workers, civil servants and employees at public companies: the unions estimate that this includes some 250,000 people in total. Other unions have also been invited to adhere to the strike.
The two major unions consider the Catalan government’s proposal “unacceptable” and an “insult” to public workers, according to the Catalan news agency . Furthermore, the unions announced that the government need not convene another meeting, as workers’ representatives will not participate in these negotiations until the proposal is withdrawn.
The December 12 call to strike is to be preceded by the one-week strike of doctors in primary healthcare from November 26 to November 30, and there will also be stoppages in the public education sector on November 29 to protest against cuts that have not been reversed.