Court Orders Alicante City Council to Pay €2,000 to Union

The High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community has once again ruled in favour of the SEP-CV and has ordered the Alicante City Council to pay €2,000 for moral damages. The court has determined that the council violated the fundamental right to union freedom by "unjustifiably suspending the union's access to its corporate email account for a month," as highlighted in a statement.

This ruling upholds the decision made by the Social Court No. 3 of Alicante in September 2024 and dismisses the appeal filed by the City Council, considering that neither the principles of legality nor proportionality were respected in the sanction imposed on the SEP-CV.

In the first instance, the judge noted moral damages due to the suspension of the email, which, according to the union, "significantly affected the exercise of union activity."

This medium is usually used by the entity to communicate with its members. Additionally, it also receives official notifications of meetings such as negotiation tables. In just one month of inactivity, the SEP-CV received more than 300 emails that went unanswered.

The ruling, in line with others from the Supreme Court, states that although there are other means of communication, the restriction applied by the City Council was disproportionate and violated fundamental rights.

The union has "very positively" valued this new resolution. They believe it strengthens the role of unions in defending labour rights and underscores the obligation of public administrations not to hinder union action.

"This ruling is a clear warning against any attempt to censor or arbitrarily limit union freedom," they highlighted in a statement.

The union has also criticised the government's stance in appealing what they consider a clear ruling. "It is regrettable that the people of Alicante now have to bear an additional cost that could have been avoided."

With the current ruling, there is still the possibility of an appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the SEP-CV considers it an impeccable ruling, and the grounds for appeal are very limited. "If the political leaders had to pay out of their own pockets, they probably would have thought twice before going to court again," they highlighted.

The union has reaffirmed its commitment to the rights of public employees, "we will continue to fight to ensure that administrations act within the legal framework and with respect for fundamental rights."

In its ruling, the court considers it proven that although there were general rules on email use since 2014, the specific criterion the City Council wanted to apply was approved on 14 February 2024, verbally communicated on 23 February. However, it highlights that it was not notified in writing to the unions until the 28th at 13:31. However, the sanction was executed on that same 28 February, but at 9:26, that is, before the alleged infraction was officially reported.

Furthermore, the judicial resolution recalls that the new criterion required unions to first publish the information on their blog and then share only a link via email, but since it was neither in force nor communicated before the emails were sent, no infraction can be attributed.