Airline Faces Christmas And New Year Strikes

Could airline passengers face disruptions this holiday season? Spanish unions UGT and CCOO have declared an eight-day strike at Iberia over the Christmas period.

On December 29, 30, and 31, as well as January 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7, Iberia employees will strike due to the company’s refusal to establish auto-handling services.

These dates were confirmed after several meetings with Iberia and its parent company IAG, which also includes British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and Level, writes La Informacion.

Dispute Over Auto-Handling

The unions demand the creation of an auto-handling system to service IAG’s group airlines. They claim these requests have been repeatedly ignored, leading to the strike’s announcement.

Iberia have expressed ‘enormous disappointment’, and labelled the strike ‘irresponsible’. The company asserts it has continually engaged with union representatives since the Aena handling tender result on September 26.

Impact On Holiday Travel

Iberia warns that the strike will significantly disrupt holiday travel, and impact family reunions and vacation plans. It views the strike as harmful and unnecessary, particularly during this peak travel season.

Legal And Operational Challenges

Following Aena’s tender decision, Iberia lost its license to provide third-party services at several key airports, including Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Alicante, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Ibiza and Bilbao.

However, it did retain its license for Madrid. Iberia has since pursued legal action to overturn the tender result and has been in talks with unions to mitigate the impact on its workforce.

Worker Rights

The airline reassures its workforce that their rights will remain intact under the V Convention of the ground handling sector. Yet, it argues that implementing auto-handling would damage IAG’s competitiveness and lead to a financial downturn.

The company further explained that auto-handling is not viable, as it would disproportionately retain higher-paid, senior staff, widening the competitive gap with other operators.

Iberia clarifies it has never engaged in auto-handling at these airports, preferring to outsource these services. The strike, therefore, raises significant concerns about future operations and the airline’s competitive standing in the industry.