The strike committee of the municipal cleaning service of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has called off the strike planned for July 31, as well as the gathering in Santa Ana square. The decision was made after agreeing with the City Council to open a dialogue about the future of the service.
The workers of the municipal street cleaning and waste collection service of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have taken a step back in their mobilisations. The strike committee announced this Wednesday the cancellation of the strike planned for next Friday, July 31, as well as the gathering that was to coincide with the ordinary plenary session of the City Council in Santa Ana square.
The decision, supported by a large majority in the general assembly of workers held on July 16, responds to the opening of a dialogue and consensus table with the City Council. According to the committee's spokespersons, in a meeting held on July 8 with the councillor of the area, Héctor Alemán, and the deputy director of the Mayor's Office, Yeray López, it was agreed to initiate a period of information and transparency regarding the different alternatives for managing the service.
The union representatives emphasised that this suspension represents a vote of confidence in the City Council, while also avoiding further burdening the citizens. However, they warned that they reserve the right to activate new strike calls if negotiations do not progress in the agreed terms.
The labour conflict arose due to doubts generated by the possible change of the original service model, created in 1985 as a municipal company. Workers fear that it may shift towards a commercial company, which they consider a result of poor management of the current model. Therefore, the strike committee is in favour of the service continuing to be managed directly by the local administration.
A calendar of monthly meetings has been set for the dialogue table, which will last until December. At that time, workers will be called to a new assembly to assess progress and, with legal advice, evaluate the options that best benefit both the staff and the citizens.
The committee spokespersons thanked the good faith shown by councillor Héctor Alemán and the government team, although they made it clear that the pressure exerted by the strike on June 26 was key to opening this dialogue channel. They also acknowledged the support of opposition groups.
Looking ahead, the workers have made it clear that their willingness to negotiate is firm, but they will not hesitate to resume mobilisations if the meetings lose their consensus character or if they detect breaches by the administration. For now, citizens are spared a new strike that would have affected street cleaning and waste collection in the middle of summer.
The City Council, for its part, has not yet made any decisions regarding the management model, according to councillor Alemán during the meeting on July 8. The commissioned studies are purely technical and informative, with no closed proposal existing. The open dialogue seeks to reach a consensus on the future of the service with the workers and avoid new conflicts.
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