Street Cleaning Strike Called Off in Villena

The street cleaning service staff in Villena has called off the strike planned for September 3rd, which was intended to protest their working conditions. This announcement was made by the strike committee in a statement issued by the CCOO and UGT unions, acknowledging that the majority of the staff voted in favor of the agreement proposed by the town council. The agreement also puts an end to the protests scheduled to take place in Santiago Square.

"From the committee's perspective, we have not achieved the objectives set for the strike, as the town hall has not presented any proposal to address the calculation of overtime hours, nor a method to compensate for the 130 extra hours worked in 2023," reads the statement.

They consider that the presented agreement "is a very short-term solution, with no recognition or inclusion of the service in the town hall's productivity regulations, which forces the delegates to renegotiate holiday pay for subsequent years."

"The commitment to continue negotiations on Generala Villena's collective agreement in the coming days seems insufficient without scheduling a timetable for work meetings and discussions," say the unions, adding that although the reached agreement "does not address all of the staff's concerns, it does mitigate the financial disadvantage we faced during these Moors and Christians festivities."