Groundforce Workers Start Indefinite Strike at Barcelona-El Prat

The CGT walkout says it responds to worsening safety, heavy workloads and poor training and it threatens peak summer travel despite government minimum-service rules.

Overview

The strike began Tuesday and covers 1,179 Groundforce employees who do ground handling, check-in, boarding and flight coordination at Barcelona-El Prat.
On the first day the stoppage forced about twenty flight cancellations, with affected passengers either rebooked or refunded and reports of longer queues for check-in and baggage.
Groundforce services at El Prat are scheduled to cover roughly 11,600 flights and about 2.4 million seats between August and September, and the Transport Ministry says nearly two million passengers could be affected.
The ministry has imposed legally binding services mínimos that vary by route: about 80% in August and 77% in September for certain routes, about 58%/57% for some international or long-peninsula links, and about 35%/36% for short-peninsula alternatives.
CGT says the walkout responds to a 'grave deterioration' in workplace safety, ramp and baggage overloads, staff shortages and lack of training, and the dispute follows earlier strikes in March that point to ongoing tensions with Groundforce and its parent Globalia.