The bus strike in Zaragoza goes further while company and committee return to SAMA in a climate of tension

The urban bus strike enters a crucial phase. After the partial stoppages became daily, the company and the committee will face each other again this Tuesday at the Aragon Mediation and Arbitration Service (SAMA) in a climate of maximum tension. The key is in the proposal that the mediators made last Thursday and that, despite the fact that both parties refuse to accept it, has triggered the pressure to be the way to resolve the longest labor dispute experienced by a city contractor. At the moment, part of the union representation, three unions that represent 47% of the members of the committee (CC. OO., UGT and CSIF), have made it clear that they would be willing to accept the SAMA proposal, with an 8, 5% fixed increase and 12% salary review clause. But the Sattra and the CUT, which have the majority, cling to the strikes and the refusal to call a referendum in which the staff could give their opinion, as requested by the mediation body. These two unions only have one more representative on the committee than the other three organizations combined. On Thursday, an assembly will be held in which the committee will be accountable to the staff. For its part, the company maintains that the SAMA proposal is out of its reach. Workers’ proposal In a climate of tension within the company, the unions launched a proposal to Avanza on Monday to keep the negotiation alive. As explained by the president of the committee, José Manuel Montañés (Sattra), the unions have lowered their claims regarding the social part of the agreement, accepting some of the company’s proposals and withdrawing some of their own. Regarding the economic part, Montañés warns that it is the company that does not assume the SAMA proposal, so it remains “anchored” in the economic approach that it already made on July 31. “If he accepted the SAMA proposal and negotiated it, the agreement would not be very difficult,” he said. In this sense, he pointed out that the committee is demanding a salary review clause at the end of the agreement of around 15%, around 85%. of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). “There are differences with respect to the SAMA proposal, but it is not a hecatomb,” he affirms. Raúl Cabeza is the representative of CC. OO., the second most important union in the bus contract. He maintained that at this moment “the negotiation in the SAMA is for the Avanza brand”, given that the company “does not accept the offer” of the mediators as valid. Although he said that some aspects of the first of the points (referring to the social articles) would have to be “qualified”, he pointed out that his union, like the UGT and CSIF, had accepted the mediators’ proposal. This also implied submitting the offer to a referendum and suspending the strikes. Cabeza also made it clear that this was his position, but that he respects the majority decision of the committee (Sattra and CUT). “There is not going to be an internal division,” said the trade unionist, who hoped that at Tuesday’s meeting “the company will be able to accept the offer” of the mediators. At the moment, there is no sign that this will happen. The director of Avanza in Zaragoza, Guillermo Ríos, explained that the company “has already reached the maximum it could assume.” “It’s beyond our means,” he said. What’s more, he considered that the SAMA proposal “forces” the company more than the workers. Avanza proposes a salary improvement of 8% in three years and a salary revision clause of 11.25%. “We respect what SAMA proposes, but we stick to our offer,” he said. However, various sources assume that if the committee were to put the mediators’ proposal to a vote and it was approved, the company would receive all the pressure and would end up giving in, with a new agreement well above what the sector is achieving.” Like the Iberia pilots “While the parties speak, the city experienced a new day of strikes this Monday. In the marquees, you wait for 19 minutes in 38 or 20 in 35 or 31, to give some examples. In almost all cases, waiting times were more than double the usual ones. “I just missed the opportunity to get to work on time,” lamented Ana Cristina Rodríguez, a teacher who went to work looking at the clock and downloading the QR code for the line 38 stop on Hernán Cortés Avenue. She had just passed a bus and she was afraid the next one would take too long. “It’s a chore,” she said. And all while waiting for the school year to start on September 8. Rocío, who came from Santa Isabel, complained of a entrenched problem that already tires users. “I go in at 8:30 and I’ll be late because I have to go to Montecanal,” she calculated. “They want to charge like the Iberia pilots,” said others at the stops. Someone would raise their hand to catch a taxi and avoid the delay when clocking in at work. This Tuesday there will be strikes again: from 8:15 to 9:15, from 14:15 to 15:15 and from 19:15 to 20:15.