Just when we are expecting the outcome of the Handling licenses any day now, we found an article in LaVanguardia informing that the Groundforce Union UGT has called a six day long strike during the month of May. Groundforce is the handling division of Globalia and is the main groundhandling company that provides services at the Barcelona airport. Bearing in mind the current ground handling map in the Spanish airports, Groundforce is the second largest operator after Iberia Handling.
The Groundforce Unions have called stops for the days 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 of May. They aim to protest against the breach of the collective bargaining agreement by the company. UGT said that traffic has been increasing for the last three years, but the company has not even considered giving indefinite contracts to their employees. Groundforce currently provides services to airlines like Air Europa, Alitalia, Qatar Airways, Aeroflot, Airlingus and United Airlines. Also, when it comes to the ramp handling services, since Iberia Handling does not have a license for Barcelona, Groundforce provides these services to Iberia, Vueling, Air Nostrum, KLM, Air France, British Airways, El Al and Aerolíneas Argentinas as well.
The staff demands an improvement in the work conditions. They also request that the collective bargaining agreement be complied with. The number of employees directly affected by this strike is one thousand. Another thousand employees would be indirectly affected also.
Photo: Groundforce equipment seen from an airplane at Barcelona airport by Yasunari Goto – Flickr
