Dozens of Vueling cabin crew have demonstrated this Friday morning at Barcelona airport to demand salary and labor improvements. The concentration, called by the Stavla union -driver of the strike that the airline has faced in Spain since November 1-, has begun around 10 am at the gates of T1, in the departures area, and has developed without incidents.
The union organization demands a salary increase of 13.4% this 2022 for the group of workers and stresses that the current salary tables must be reviewed to adapt them to the cost of living. "The base salaries are very low, especially for workers with less than two years of seniority; we depend on the variable part, on the flights we make per day, and we go to the limit of what the law establishes," Guadalupe explained. Romero, head of the Stavla union section at Vueling.
According to the workers, a Vueling cabin crew in Spain with up to two years of seniority earns "a base salary of 417.3 euros per month", to which must be added the variable part of the salary. The fixed salary increases with seniority, reaching "1,044.3 euros per month," they added. "You don't live from the air, for a decent salary", shouted the protesters, who have received the applause and encouragement of several passengers.
The stoppages began on November 1 and will take place every Friday, Sunday and Monday until January 31, 2023, as well as on December 6, 8, 24 and 31 and January 5, key dates for bridges and Christmas holidays . Until now, Vueling has reported that the protest has had "little impact" on its operations. On strike days, around 88%-90% of scheduled flights are operating. For this Friday, the IAG airline has preventively canceled 69 flights throughout its network and has relocated 91% of passengers affected by the suspension of travel.
Romero has commented that the adherence of the workers to the strike on the flights not protected by the minimum services is "greater than 95%". Vueling president Marco Sansavini called the union's demands "unfeasible" and said they could compromise "the company's viability." Stavla currently maintains the protest schedule, waiting, they explained, for the company to listen to their requests.
