The indefinite strike announced by Santa Eulària’ s street cleaning service workers for November 22nd will finally be called off after CCOO and the concessionaire company, Valoriza, have reached an agreement to regularize outstanding payments and guarantee job security.
The pact was concluded at an event held at the Court of Arbitration and Mediation of the Balearic Islands, although it must still be ratified by the workers’ assembly. According to the union, its validity will depend on full compliance with the commitments made by the company.
Delinquent payments and payment schedule
For weeks, the workforce has been complaining about repeated delays in the payment of holidays and other salary items, as well as errors in the payroll. The complaints, which led to the call for a strike, also included the absence of a paycheck that should have been paid in October.
In the new agreement, Valoriza is committed to the immediate payment of all financial claims registered up to November 19 and 20, provided that bank deadlines allow it. In addition, the company will regularize the calendar:
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Holidays will be paid within the current month, so the November payroll will include the outstanding October and November holidays.
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From now on, claims filed up to the 10th will be paid on the 11th at the latest, and those filed between the 11th and 26th will be paid together with the monthly payroll.
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Payroll receipts must be submitted by the 4th or 5th of the following month.
Work safety and vehicles under supervision
Another of the critical points of the conflict was the poor condition of part of the fleet, an issue that already caused tensions between the City Council and Valoriza last summer, when the consistory opened a sanctioning file for various breaches in the cleaning and waste collection service.
In this section, the company guarantees that no vehicle that does not comply with safety conditions will go out to provide service. The prevention delegates will participate in the daily review of the fleet, and any incident must be resolved on the same day. Otherwise, the vehicle will be immobilized as a preventive measure.
The Santa Eulària City Council has promised to collaborate through fleet audits, an involvement that the workers’ representatives have thanked, highlighting its role in “favoring a climate of decisive dialogue”.
From conflict to deconvocation
The tension had been growing for months. As La Voz de Ibiza reported, the 63 service workers had decided to call an indefinite strike in the face of a situation they described as “unsustainable”: continued errors in the payroll, non-payments, an unpaid bonus and a fleet with fewer new vehicles than foreseen in the contract.
Now, after the agreement, CCOO emphasizes that it has been the unity and pressure of the workforce, together with the work of the Workers’ Legal Representation, which has forced the company to assume commitments “that must be applied immediately”.
The strike will be officially called off after the workers’ assembly. However, the union warns: if Valoriza fails to comply, the mobilizations will resume immediately.
