Over one thousand tourism workers, led by the IUF's Spanish affiliates CC.OO Servicios and FeSMC-UGT, marched the more than 60 kilometers from Marbella to Malaga May 22-25 in support of their demand for a new collective agreement. Twenty percent of all workers In Malaga are employed in the tourism sector, and the Malaga Hospitality Agreement is a reference standard for bargaining elsewhere in Spain.
Negotiations for a new agreement to replace the one which expired in December 2017 collapsed in the face of employer insistence on weakening employment rights and increasing outsourcing and precarious employment [1]. The unions are also demanding pay increases in a sector which generates high profits while wages and conditions have deteriorated dramatically for many workers. The unions are planning further action to bring employers back to the negotiating table.