Iberia seals agreement to end handling dispute and strikes
The airline Iberia puts an end to the handling conflict after signing an agreement with the unions UGT and CC.OO. for the creation of a new company whose main activity will be the provision of ground handling services, both to third parties and its own, at the airports where Iberia obtained the license and at the eight where it lost it.
The agreement signed 'in extremis', which protects the present and future working conditions and salaries of the workers, also includes a voluntary redundancy program for a total of 1,727 people, reports Europa Press.
The airline has accepted the request of the unions to renew the workforce through voluntary departures, as well as the signing of an employment stability plan. The company has thanked the unions for the "exercise of responsibility" carried out, which has finally allowed it to take this "historic step" in handling in Spain.
For Iberia's president and CEO, Fernando Candela, the agreement reached with the unions is a great benefit to both parties. "We all win and, hand in hand with the workers, we take a historic step forward in the handling business in Spain," he said in a video, in which he affirmed that "the new handling company guarantees the viability and competitiveness of the business".
For the airline, this agreement guarantees "a sustainable, competitive and profitable future for the handling business and a stable framework, under the umbrella of IAG and with a majority of Iberia, for its workers".
"We have been able to generate an opportunity where there was a crisis. The new handling company guarantees the viability and competitiveness of the business and also ensures that Iberia's employees continue to develop professionally and personally within the IAG Group," said Iberia's chairman.
A new 100% IAG company
This new company will be 100% owned by the IAG Group, with a majority Iberia shareholding and a new brand, and will aim to grow both domestically and internationally. All airport employees at all work centers will become part of the new company.
All Iberia employees will maintain the conditions of the Iberia agreement and retain their rights, including the progression and seniority systems, and new workers joining the new company will do so under the industry agreement.
"The principle that has guided this agreement has been, from the outset, to safeguard those conditions that Iberia workers have over and above the conditions specified in the industry agreement," the unions said in a statement released yesterday.
Thanks to the agreement reached between the company and the unions, the new company will provide ground handling services for IAG Group companies and will also provide services to third-party companies, in ramp and/or passenger services.
This means that it will be able to have a presence at all airports and work as a network, which will enable it to achieve the necessary volume of business, at market prices, to have sustainable revenues and possibilities for national and international growth.
Negotiating a voluntary redundancy program
The company has also announced an economic item, the amount of which is unknown, with which to negotiate a voluntary redundancy program that will affect 1,727 people over 56 years of age and which will be in force until December 31, 2026.
Iberia insists that it is not cutting its workforce, but renewing it and agrees to sign an employment stability plan. In addition, a Center of Excellence for Professional Training will be created for handling professionals, located at the headquarters of La Muñoza, next to the Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas airport.
The unions assure that the result "is the best possible under the circumstances in which this negotiation has been carried out". A more detailed presentation of the aspects of the agreement signed yesterday will be made in the coming days.