The Girona City Council and the unions Intersindical, CCOO, and UGT have reached an agreement to introduce salary improvements for 120 municipal workers from the brigades and action groups, a group that a few weeks ago had warned that they would stop working overtime and that Temps de Flors could be compromised.
The agreement comes after that labor standoff, when the staff stood firm to demand changes in their pay conditions. The negotiation has ended with a document that, in the words of the government team, establishes a fairer, clearer, and more coherent pay model for this staff.
A new system to differentiate availabilities
The agreement distinguishes between potential availability and effective availability. The former will have a fixed compensatory supplement, while the latter will be adjusted to the time effectively worked and the schedule in which the activation occurs, whether it is a day shift, night shift, or holiday.
From the town hall they maintain that this regulation allows to effectively recognize the responsibility, availability, and commitment of the brigade personnel. They also defend that the system is ordered, homogenized, and adapted to the reality of the service.
No confusion with overtime
One of the points the City Council emphasizes is that the new regulation avoids confusion with other remuneration figures, such as overtime. The intention is to give this system its own identity within the municipal organization.
The municipal government adds that this framework also reinforces the City Council's response capacity in extraordinary situations, an especially sensitive aspect in services that must be activated at specific times and outside of ordinary hours.
Agreement after weeks of tension
The two parties have valued the will for dialogue and understanding maintained during the negotiation. The conflict had become visible weeks ago, when the workers announced that they would not work overtime and stated that this decision could affect the development of Temps de Flors.
With the signing, the City Council considers a labor claim to be channeled that had opened a front in the run-up to one of the city's most representative events. The council now frames the agreement within its commitment to continue improving public services and the conditions of its staff.