The Christmas holidays are synonymous with reunions, endless dinner tables, and—let’s be honest—last-minute panic shopping. No matter how much we plan, there’s always one bottle of cava missing, the bread for the appetizers, or that essential ingredient needed to make Sant Esteve’s cannelloni perfect. However, this year the traditional, frantic dash through the crowded aisles of grocery stores could run into a major obstacle. The festive atmosphere threatens to clash head-on with a scenario of shuttered stores and labor protests, leaving more than a few people without their supplies for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
The dates of the strikes and the affected retail chains
The situation has become so tense that the UGT union in Catalonia has decided to take action and call for two days of general strikes in the supermarket and grocery store sector.
And they haven’t chosen just any dates. The strikes are scheduled for December 24 and 31, striking right at the heart of the Christmas shopping season, just when sales volume and customer traffic reach their peak.
This strike does not affect just any neighborhood store, but rather all large and medium-sized retailers governed by the Catalan sector-wide collective bargaining agreement. This means that if you usually fill your shopping cart at stores like Bonpreu-Esclat, Condis, Sorli, BonÀrea, La Sirena, Aldi, or SPAR, you’re very likely to encounter significant disruptions in service on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. The union’s strategy aims to capitalize on this peak shopping season to pressure employers and break the deadlock in negotiations, which are currently at a complete standstill.
The origin of the conflict and the workers’ demands
The sector’s discontent did not arise overnight. In the run-up to the year-end strike days, workers have organized a rally for October 20 in front of the Foment del Treball headquarters in Barcelona. The goal of this fall protest is to demand a change in attitude from management and to reach an agreement that does not force the workforce to make further sacrifices in an economic climate that is already putting a significant strain on people’s finances.
The employees’ demands are very clear and focus primarily on protecting their purchasing power in the face of the constantly rising cost of living. The UGT union is demanding an annual wage increase of four percent, accompanied by a review clause that guarantees wages won’t fall behind if inflation spikes again. Beyond money, the battle is also being fought over daily working conditions. Union representatives are calling for an effective reduction in the workweek, recognition and compensation for the fact that workers have to handle every task in the store, and the standardization of pay scales so they are always above the interprofessional minimum wage. In addition, they are asking to safeguard current benefits when an employee goes on temporary disability leave, preventing cuts to a basic right of the workforce.
