The unions CCOO, CSIF and CGT have gathered this Friday in the Mercadal de Reus square to demand the renewal of the collective agreement for City Council workers. The protest has been called in the very center of the city to denounce, according to union representatives, the blocking of negotiations and the non-compliance with agreements reached with the staff.
The conflict affects about 1,100 workers of the Reus City Council and its autonomous bodies. The unions assure that the municipal government has not complied with the agreements signed in October 2022 nor the job evaluation approved that same year.
Complaint for the unpublished agreement
One of the main points of friction is the lack of publication of the collective agreement. The workers' representatives maintain that this document should have come into force between four and six months after its signing, but as of today it remains unpublished.
The trade union organizations also denounce that for two months the commissions foreseen to address their demands have been unilaterally canceled. To that they add the presentation of more than 50 instances without response, a situation that, in their opinion, evidences the absence of interlocution.
Criticism of the lack of negotiation
"They do not want to talk with us and they resolve everything by decree without negotiating with the unions" - Rafa Julve, spokesperson for CCOO
Julve also maintains that the delegated councilor, Manel Muñoz, maintains an "imposing attitude" and questions his role in the negotiation. Along the same lines, César Polo, from CSIF, assures that during the last three years the meetings held have not served to advance an agreement.
"In the last three years they have only gathered us to make us dizzy, there really hasn't been a negotiation, they have imposed what they wanted" - César Polo, CSIF
Warning of new mobilizations
From the CGT, Jaume Margalló has defined this Friday's concentration as "a first act". The union representative warns that, if the municipal government maintains the same position, the protests will continue in the coming weeks.
The three unions warn that there will be new actions if the Reus City Council does not resume negotiations and responds to the demands raised by the staff. The concentration in Mercadal square thus opens a new phase of union pressure in a labor conflict that remains unresolved almost three years after the 2022 agreements.