Spain: Repsol Workers Stage Three-day Strike

Repsol's unions in Spain called for a three-day strike starting Friday in order to denounce the loss of purchasing power of their workers' salaries in the midst of the growing inflation that the economy is going through.

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The mobilizations have been called by the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (CCOO), the General Workers' Union (UGT), the Workers' Union (STR), and the Workers' Trade Union (USO). Nearly 16 000 workers of the Repsol group are called to the strike which began this Friday in about one thousand centers of the energy company.

Local sources reported that the first day of the strike has obtained a 95 percent follow-up. According to a communiqué issued by the unions, the protests are being carried out to denounce that "with the company's unwillingness to reach an agreement on wage increases, Repsol workers have lost purchasing power."

In this sense, the secretary of communication of the STR, Jordi Margalef, said that "we have had our salaries frozen since 2020, a situation that contrasts with the great economic results of the Repsol group."

The workers of Repsol stand up: "Either share your profits with the workforce or there will be strike."

At the same time, CCOO affirmed that the workers of the Spanish company "are ready to defend with strikes the right not to lose thousands of euros at a time of inflationary uncertainty, and with the company giving historic profits, as we have seen this week".

Similarly, UGT stressed that "despite the commitment and responsibility of the staff to continue producing at the time, Covid, as an essential company, refuses to value all the efforts made by its workers."

During the first half of this year, Repsol's profits are estimated at 1,400 million euros (around 1,412 million dollars), and the workers cannot explain the reasons for the freezing of their salaries.

According to specialized financial institutions, inflation in Spain currently stands at 10.2 percent.