The municipal brigades of Girona threaten to go on strike during Temps de Flors if the City Council does not specify and fulfill the economic proposals it had announced. About sixty workers gathered this Thursday at noon in the Plaça del Vi before meeting with the mayor, Lluc Salellas, in a new day of protest marked by the blocking of negotiations.
Unease over the economic disagreement
The main point of friction is economic. The staff reproaches the council for having proposed a staggered payment, but without formalizing it in any document. That is now the core of the conflict between both parties, after several previous contacts that have not served to close an agreement.
"The proposal that the previous day we had at 99%, when it arrives they start to put technical problems" - Rafa Navarro, spokesperson of the union section of CCOO
The discomfort among the workers has been increasing upon understanding that the acquired commitments are not being materialized in writing. Navarro insisted on that idea at the end of the protest.
"Words I cannot take to the brigades nor to any worker" - Rafa Navarro, spokesperson of the union section of CCOO
Overtime is suspended and mobilizations continue
The workers have decided to stop doing overtime hours linked to Temps de Flors and maintain the mobilizations indefinitely. The warning arrives at the doors of one of the most significant events on the city's calendar, with a potential impact on the preparatory works and logistical support required by the installations and the maintenance of the festival.
"Without the brigades, Girona does not have the capacity to do Temps de Flors" - Rafa Navarro, spokesperson for the CCOO union section
The protest this Thursday is not an isolated episode. It is the third time that the brigade staff takes to the streets to demand that the commitments be fulfilled which, in their opinion, the City Council had assumed in the negotiation.
New meeting this Friday
The City Council has called for this Friday a new Negotiation Table with a proposal defined as very similar to the one that had already been discussed previously. The meeting arrives in a climate of distrust and with the union demand that any progress be recorded clearly and formally.
The labor conflict is also added to another open front in the municipal services. The staff of Girona+Neta, in charge of cleaning and waste collection, has announced an indefinite strike starting from May 4 if the negotiation of their new agreement is not unblocked. With this scenario, the City Council faces decisive days to avoid new tensions in the full prelude to Temps de Flors.