Shop assistants call off two day strike

Strikes in the Commerce sector planned for 29 September and 6 October have been called off.
Representatives of key union groups expressed satisfaction yesterday over an agreement reached with management, outlining the general wages settlement for the Commerce sector for the next three years. The agreement, concluded in the early hours of yesterday morning at a Balearic Arbitration Tribunal (Tamib), was supported by three union groups: the Balearic Federation of Businessmen (Afedeco), the Majorcan Association of Small and Medium-sized Traders (Pimeco), and the Small and Medium-sized Businesses of Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The general secretary of the Commerce, Hostelry and Tourism section of the CCOO union, Rafael Borrás, classed the agreement as “excellent” and confirmed that it handed purchasing power back to the workers. Borrás, who highlighted the compensations that workers will receive from businesses linked to tourism, for the Sundays and public holidays that they worked, said that the accord had been made possible by “tenacious negotiating” and the threat of a strike on the part of the unions. Another union group reported that one of the key achievements of the agreement was the improvement in working conditions on Sundays and public holidays and the inclusion of retirement awards. The same group claimed that a desire to achieve consensus on the part of both unions and management, was what won the day. It added however, that negotiations had been very tense and on various occasions were on the point of breaking down.