Negotiations for retail collective bargaining began on Tuesday.

Negotiations for retail collective bargaining began on Tuesday. | Teresa Ayuga

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma23/01/2019 18:02
TW

The new round of negotiations over the collective bargaining agreement for the retail sector started on Tuesday. The negotiations involve fifteen union representatives and fifteen from business associations in Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza (Formentor).

The initial demands from the unions include pay increases of at least ten per cent, which would be over a three to four-year period. The president of the Afedeco smaller retailers association, Antoni Gayà, said on Tuesday that he is willing to reach an agreement "but not at any price".

Antoni Fuster of Pimem observed that recent summers have not been great and that a particularly high salary increase could threaten the future viability of many businesses and result in job losses. "Businesses are very diverse, and the situation is not the same for all of them."

The last negotiations resulted in a 6.5% pay increase over three years that took effect on 1 April 2016 and runs out on 31 March this year.