Spanish union calls 2 days of baggage handler strikes at country’s airports

Spanish labour union UGT on Wednesday announced that baggage handlers at all the country’s airports will strike on Dec. 5 and 10, when many Spaniards are expected to travel for two national holidays.

The strikes, which the union announced on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will coincide with national holidays on Dec. 6 and 8.

The union also said in a statement on its website that contractors to state-controlled Aena AENA.MC, which operates all the commercial airports in Spain, do not respect labour conditions.

UGT said it is also protesting against new contracts for baggage handling services recently signed between Aena and contractors, which imply different conditions.

A spokesperson for Aena declined to comment.

As tourism has gradually recovered from pandemic travel restrictions, labour disputes have spread around European airports as operators struggle to rehire workers, who are demanding higher pay to cope with inflation.

(Reuters)