Negotiations??
Hey there,
well it seems that is what the sinister minister wants. I mean, that's what he says in public appearances. Even in the "royal decree-law" it is mentioned that this is a temporary measure (3 years) and it urges to resume negotiations.
What does this mean? That now the company, in the new "legal" (or ilegal, depends how you look at it) situation, wants the controllers to sit down and sign new employment conditions. So, even if they are imposing now, they still want the union to sign an agreement. My bet is that, since this last decree is disregarding constitution and existing laws, if the union signs anything else it won't matter anymore. Of course the company will be very, very, very agresive with the new negotiations (since they can fire people for almost no reason and now can push the controllers buttons at their will). So they'll try and downgrade conditions as much as possible before justice can react. And then, since this new agreement will be legal (albeit the blackmail), nothing else matters. By the way justice in Spain may be known for many things but not exactly for being a fast acting entity.
I think it is funny to mention Franco and Europe... even controllers there call the minister "Goebbels" (due to his propaganda skills). But personally I think this is more related to wild capitalism. Crisis=less income for some... and there is air traffic control, moving lots of money. Airports, tourists, and associated bussineses. A big, fat creamy cake and they're trying to get a piece of it. Spanish ATC was in the way. Or was the excuse to step in? Or both? It doesn't really matter at this point. But this isn't about cost cutting (ATC salaries) or safety (it's not making it any better at least). Even if that's what the minister says when there's journo's nearby.
Slds,
A.