- After three years and eight months of struggle, the workers of Novalia have ended the strike with an agreement with the management of the cooperative. There will be no dismissal and workers will receive compensation, according to the Berria newspaper.
The twenty workers on strike at the Zamudio plant of the pharmaceutical distribution cooperative Novaltia will return to their jobs after 1,345 days of strike. They have reached an agreement with the management of the company, under which they will not be dismissed or compensated.
ELA gave details on Thursday at its headquarters in Bilbao and said that salaries will rise by 26.7%, while in the case of precarious people the increase will be 33.7%. In addition, each worker will receive compensation of EUR 9,450.
In the morning Berria brought forward the news of the agreement. Journalist Imanol Magro explained that two or three people have accepted voluntary dismissal with incentives and have managed to "shield" the return of the rest: "For lawyers is a very important condition, because it is not easy to return to work after almost four years of strike".
Among other things, the worker may denounce the action of the company against it, as “the management undertakes not to take any kind of reprisal or disciplinary action for actions directly or indirectly related to the strike,” the union said.
ELA has worked from the outset in the fight and advice next to the workers, and the union will receive compensation of EUR 1,345 per day. Several long-term resolutions oblige this cooperative.
In July 2019, workers in Novalia started the strike to denounce working conditions and precarious working hours and low wages. They will therefore put an end to this agreement to the largest strike in the history of Euskal Herria, and to the longest strike that currently existed in Europe.