The result of Aena's 'handling' contest, in which Iberia has lost service at eight airports in the network, including El Prat (of the large ones, only Barajas retains), has raised "deep concern" among the Aena staff. company. Representatives of the almost 4,000 ground services workers of the main Spanish airline transmitted it directly yesterday to the president, Fernando Candela, in an internal telematic meeting. The company is currently focusing on the work of its technical and legal teams to review the final scores of the tenders, although it assumes the “labor implications” that the resolution has for its employees.
Iberia workers were already involved in a notorious labor conflict in 2006 when, after a change of contractors, they paralyzed El Prat by invading the slopes. Some professionals who participated in that strike, which ended with 23 sentenced to two years in prison, are still active and are now threatened by subrogation to another company that they do not want.
Miguel Ángel Sánchez, general coordinator of the Cesha union, explains that this labor concern focuses on the fact that Iberia employees want to continue belonging to the staff of the Spanish flag airline and not go to work for a company that does not have its own agreement. although the subrogation is mandatory under the same contractual conditions.
The employees ask Iberia for a gesture towards the handling staff. Pedro Alcina, general secretary of the USO union, explains that in 2013 the workers accepted a salary reduction and that this is the moment in which the company should return that effort. They propose that Iberia operate in 'autohandling' for IAG group airlines at airports such as El Prat, Palma, Alicante or Málaga, among others. That is, Iberia Airport Services workers continue providing ground service for Vueling, Iberia Express or Aer Lingus. “That would save a good part of the staff from subrogation to another company,” he adds.
The worker representatives assume that reversing the result of Aena's handling contest now "will be complicated" and they acknowledge that they did not expect the result. “The management conveyed that it had made a very important commitment to maintain quota,” they conclude.
Aena does not share Iberia's “perplexity” after announcing the result of the handling tenders. The operator informed the company yesterday of the details of the assessments and insists that the technical team applied objective criteria. Aena sources add that Iberia participated in the process of preparing the tender specifications through "two consultation processes" after which it "approved" the documents of "conditions and technical specifications to which the interested parties had to comply."
