By Bimbola Oyesola
More than 9,500 Iberdrola employees across Spain are set to join the first strike in 126 years in the company.
IndustriALL affiliates UGT, CCOO and ELA have called the strike in response to the stalled collective bargaining negotiations and the company’s refusal to guarantee workers’ purchasing power.
The Spanish unions have been in negotiations for a new collective agreement since January this year. Despite several months of discussions, UGT, CCOO and ELA say that there has been little to no progress in addressing key issues like restoring purchasing power, salary increases and improving working conditions.
According to the unions, between 2021 and 2024, wages increased only 2.8 percent, while inflation rose by 18.1 percent, resulting in a loss in purchasing power. The salary increases proposed by Iberdrola fail to align with inflation rates.
Iberdrola, the second-largest company on the Spanish stock market (IBEX), achieved record profits of €5.6 billion in 2024. While rejecting all proposals from the unions on maintaining purchasing power for its workers, Iberdola generously distributed dividends and profits to the company’s senior management.
Beyond wages and working condition issues, tensions have escalated due to Iberdrola’s repeated violations of labour rights. In the last two years, the company was sanctioned four times by the Spanish National Court, including for imposing a double salary scale, improper use of telematic voting in union elections, prohibited by Spanish law, and failing to adjust pension benefits in line with inflation, issues raised and fought by the unions now calling the strike.
Says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary:
“We fully support our Spanish affiliates in their strike tomorrow, and their push to get Iberdrola to enter into a genuine dialogue to resolve these longstanding issues. This strike is not just about salaries, it is about dignity, justice and respect. It is unacceptable that a company boasting billions in profit refuses to maintain workers’ purchasing power.”
Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe general secretary, says:
“We stand in full solidarity with our Spanish affiliates who will be on strike tomorrow. It is completely unacceptable that key issues like working conditions are not being respected, workers have a fundamental right to fair pay and working conditions.”
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