Road transport workers, both those who work in the freight and passenger sectors, as well as those on publicly owned urban buses, are called to strike on October 28, November 11, 28 and 29 , December 5 and 9 and indefinite from December 23. This was announced by representatives of CCOO and UGT at a press conference, who assured that “there is no other option but to call a strike”, although there are still days to “agree and mediate”, they have clarified.
The strike does not come as a surprise, because the two unions (which represent 70% of the employees in the sector) already announced strikes at the end of July due to the lack of agreement with the employers and the Ministry of Social Security on measures that would allow progress. the retirement age.
Francisco José Vegas, general secretary of the Road and Logistics sector of the CCOO Federation of Citizen Services (FSC-CCOO), has justified the strikes because it is a profession “that causes diseases, premature aging and the reduction of life expectancy.”
More than half a million workers
In total, union representatives have assured, more than half a million workers are summoned, just in freight transport. “There is a large presence of self-employed people who we believe should be here, because age is relevant and it does not matter whether you are a worker or self-employed,” said Diego Buenestado, general secretary of the Roads, Urban and Logistics sector of the Federation of Services. , Mobility and Consumption of UGT (FeSMC-UGT). They are joined by public passenger and urban transport workers.
Union representatives have pointed out that there are paralyzed proposals, both in the Congress of Deputies and in the Senate, to improve working conditions in the sector. For this reason, they demand a change of attitude on the part of the Executive and, also, of the companies. “What we ask is that the employers recognize the danger, that reducing coefficients be applied and partial retirement through a replacement contract that is voluntary for the worker,” Diego Buenestado has listed. “It seems absurd that the employers do not agree, when the contribution [a la Seguridad Social, en este sector] due to work accidents and occupational diseases is six times higher.”
For his part, Luciano Palazzo, general secretary of FSC-CCOO, has criticized the “lack of will of the employers, who have put themselves in profile”, in this negotiation to improve working conditions. “It is making the employers and the Government see that they sit down to negotiate. “Let them stop putting themselves in profile.” At the same time, he has asked for “patience and empathy from citizens” in the face of the strike.
Source: www.eldiario.es
