This Thursday, an important step has been taken in the implementation of the agreement that ended the Tubacex strike on 4 October, especially for the reinstatement of the dismissed, the acceptance of voluntary departures and the voluntary nature of workers who wish to retire earlier.

To this end, the trade unions ELA, CCOO and Independent, together with the management of the company, have produced and presented documentation at the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country.

Legal Services Plan B following STAT's refusal

However, the procedure is being lengthened more than expected. At the beginning of October, the three unions and the leadership agreed to the end of the strike, but the agreement was not ratified either by STAT or by the LAB affiliations. The judges have demanded that all trade unions comply with the 9N resolution.

Thus, judges have not automatically accepted the admission of dismissed persons, voluntary casualties and pre-retirement, for two reasons. On the one hand, the suspension of the employment regulation dossier in July and, on the other, the lack of agreement on the part of all the trade unions.

This situation has led to the risk of harming the workers involved – including, for example, in the tax field – and the legal services have tried to find alternative ways.

In this regard, LAB stated that it would be willing to sign and support, as far as the agreement is concerned, the return of the dismissed and the departure of people who wish to retire earlier and who wish to go on a voluntary basis. That is the only thing the Abertzale syndicate would support, which does not agree with the other points contained in the agreement. "We do not share the changes in jobs, the prolongation of working hours, among other things, nor will we accept other points that would lead to non-compliance with the agreement," said the representative of the central Abertzale Sergio Zaballa.

Strong rejection of STAT

With the concurrence of LAB limited, the procedure that has now been carried out has been, in particular, the refusal to STAT. This trade union has maintained the opinion expressed by its members on the agreement (which they voted no) and it has therefore not been possible to approve it. The STAT decision has led to the rejection of certain trade unions, such as CCOO, which have refused to negotiate.

Voltage

In recent weeks, the process has created a point of tension between the trade unions, particularly because some media outlets have made it known that the agreement was broken, although it was not.

The other cause that has caused discomfort is that the company again threatened not to withdraw the appeals brought before the High Court of Justice in Madrid, unless the agreement was approved.