The stoppages affect street cleaning, waste collection and recycling centers managed by FCC Medio Ambiente and are taking place under minimum services of 40.5% decreed by Zaragoza City Council. The unions consider this percentage excessive and say it limits the impact of the mobilization in the streets, a criticism that has heightened tensions between worker representatives and the municipal government.
The protest also coincides with this Wednesday’s city council plenary session, in which workforce representatives are scheduled to speak, following a rally held this morning in Plaza de España, while the labor dispute between the workers and FCC remains unresolved.
NEGOTIATIONS REMAIN DEADLOCKED
Negotiations on the new collective agreement remain far from an accord. The unions consider the company’s financial proposal insufficient, putting it at a 7.5% pay increase over three years, while FCC maintains that its offer amounts to 9.4% between 2025 and 2027 when all elements are included. The workforce is also demanding progress on work-life balance and equality, internal promotion and a reduction in part-time employment.
Meanwhile, CGT and CCOO have criticized Environment Councillor Tatiana Gaudes, whom they accuse of issuing the minimum-services decree and favoring the concession holder’s interests. The municipal government, for its part, maintains that essential services must be guaranteed during the stoppages and has set minimum levels that worker representatives describe as “abusive and disproportionate.”
The strike will continue with the planned stoppages, and the unions have kept open the possibility of making the protest indefinite from next October 7, coinciding with the start of the Fiestas del Pilar, if an agreement between the company and the workforce is not reached beforehand.
