Fairs and fiestas

Street cleaning strike threatened for Inca fairs

Inca's Dijous Bo, the biggest fair of the year in Majorca. Can you spot a future tourism minister in the crowd? | Photo: J. J. Monerri

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterInca06/10/2017 00:00

Inca has three fairs before the biggest fair of all, Dijous Bo in November. The first fair is over the weekend of 21-22 October, and it may be that the streets don't get cleaned.

The CCOO union has announced that employees with the company Cespa, which has the contract for street cleaning, will go on strike from Monday, 16 October. The decision to strike was all but unanimous and has been taken because negotiations with Cespa on the work agreement have been getting nowhere.

The union says that the company has showed no willingness to improve the conditions of the workforce, which hasn't had any wage rise since 2013. There have apparently been four meetings since negotiations began almost a year ago.

According to the union, the company has no wish to incur additional costs, though it did make an offer of 200 euros for the first year of a new agreement, which was considered "ridiculous" by the union. The workforce demand is for ten per cent over four years plus other improvements. At the moment there has been no response from Cespa.

The town hall says that there will have to be compliance with minimum services if the strike goes ahead. And while the town hall will have a concern about cleaning during the fairs, it - along with the police forces - also has to ensure that there is adequate security.

The local security board met on Thursday and agreed that there will be more than 300 officers dedicated to the fairs, to Dijous Bo itself and to the day before (Dimecres Bo), which is the party night. There will be particular emphasis on avoiding incidents because of excessive drinking, and arrangements are being made for special parking areas.