Iberia strikes to continue after meeting fails to resolve matters

Today’s meeting between representatives of Iberia and workers ended without reaching any settlements.

The meeting held at the instigation of the government lasted less than 15 minutes and  workers do not rule out stepping up their protests against the airline’s plan to dismiss up to 19 pe rcent of its workforce.

No dates have been set for any further meetings.

Manuel Atienza, a representative of the airline sector of the UGT union, described Wednesday’s meeting as a ‘farce’. However, Iberia sources have repeated the airline’s willingness to come to an agreement.

The government is concerned about the impact of the delays and cancellations on the tourism sector. The Public Works Ministry estimates that the strikes will cost the domestic economy about €10 million a day.

Labor unions have called for more strike action during  the periods March 4-8 and March 18-22.