Civil servants' unions threaten a general strike if no wage agreement is reached
Public sector workers are demonstrating across Spain to demand an agreement to raise their salaries in 2025.
Barcelona"Either he sits down to negotiate or there will be a general strike." This is the message that the main unions representing public sector workers—CCOO, UGT, and CSIF—sent to the Minister of Labor, Óscar López, after holding a demonstration this Thursday morning in front of the ministry headquarters in Madrid. Public sector workers have been demonstrating throughout Spain to demand "quality public services, salary increases, more public sector jobs, and improved working conditions" for 3.5 million public employees. For now, the unions have achieved one of their main demands, essential for reaching an agreement: unblocking negotiations. After months of trying to reopen talks, the ministry has agreed to hold a first meeting on November 5. "The deterioration of the public sector is causing undesirable situations, which translate into a greater social response. We see this in healthcare, education, social services, the justice system, and other strategic sectors, as well as in the daily management of essential public services," the unions said in a statement.
The UGT union asserts that, although negotiations have reopened, the planned schedule of mobilizations and pressure on the Spanish government to achieve better conditions will continue. "The ball is in the ministry's court," said Isabel Araque, general secretary of UGT Public Services. In any case, if there is no commitment to implement a salary increase that allows them to recover purchasing power, they will continue the protests. "We know how much bread and electricity have gone up, and what the cost of living is, but we don't know how much, how, or when our salaries will increase in 2025," she emphasized.
"This contempt is unbearable."
Union representatives argued that the lack of a national budget cannot be used as an excuse for failing to negotiate a new wage agreement. Lucho Palazzo, coordinator of the public sector division of the CCOO union, also insisted in statements to the media that "this disregard is unacceptable." Miguel Borra, president of the CSIF union, pointed out that the Spanish government already owes civil servants €2 billion in salaries this year, and that public sector workers have lost 8.5 percentage points of purchasing power in the last three years, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) continues to rise.
