The strike continues at the ground operations center of Groundforce, a Globalia group company that provides services at the airports of Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Valencia, Ibiza, Bilbao, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and the airport in Zaragoza.
Spanish media have revealed that suitcases have been abandoned or left on planes as a major strike at 12 airports continues ahead of Easter. After the second day of open industrial action launched by Groundforce at 12 airports in Spain, at least six flights were forced to leave Madrid-Barajas airport on Monday without passengers’ luggage, ABC reports.
The industrial dispute continues in the operation of Groundforce, which is part of the Globalia group, which serves airports including Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Valencia, Ibiza, Bilbao, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and handles aircraft cargo in Zaragoza.
The industrial action, organized by the trade unions CCOO, UGT, and USO regarding the wage disagreement with the factory, takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from morning, afternoon and evening – between 5-7am, 11am-5pm, and 10pm-midnight.
Several flights experienced minor disruption, Europress reported. Palma Airport was operating almost Wednesday morning, with delays caused by the departure of ground staff.
In particular, there were two delayed arrivals and four late arrivals, according to data from Aena collected by Europa Press. Ibiza Airport, similarly affected by the ground staff strike, reported no problems. Union FeSMC-UGT reported major disruptions, including delays of nearly an hour for one flight, aircraft being left idle, ground handling operations struggling, and cancellations, especially at peak times.
They also allege that thousands of pieces of luggage have been left behind or arrived late, causing significant disruptions to operations.
A spokesman said: “All of this exemplifies the irresponsible management of the company, which has chosen conflict over dialogue. The company, in reality, appears to have no regard for its employees, its customers and the thousands of affected passengers.
“The current situation shows a complete breakdown of labor relations and an extraordinary deterioration of the internal climate, with an uncertain future if there is no urgent change of attitude.”
In a related development, the Menzies-related firm, which supports carriers including Norwegian, EasyJet and Canaryfly across the Canary Islands, has secured an agreement and canceled industrial action planned for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of April, which would have coincided with the busy period of Holy Week.
The industrial action, which was announced due to “union dysfunction,” was intended to affect about 3,000 workers of the Spanish company, 600 of which are based in the Canary Islands. The first days of the strike were planned for last Saturday and Sunday, however these were called off after negotiations began between union officials and management.
These negotiations have now reached a successful conclusion, and all parties have reached an agreement that marks a significant advance in workers’ rights and improved working conditions, achieved through “constant efforts and advocacy of the UGT,” according to a statement issued by the union.
Spanish lawyer Jon Ortiz advised passengers: “You should arrive at the airport at least 3 hours early, put your hand luggage first, and go online; being prepared and documenting everything makes a big difference in making a claim.”
He advised “arriving at the airport before the usual time (at least 3 hours before the flight), prioritizing the carry-on luggage to avoid problems with the process, and checking the internet whenever possible”.
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