Lets make something clear first: this is not a simple strike: this is 99% of Spanish ATC simply not showing up for work or abandoning their shifts with a lame excuse that they are not feeling well. And all at the same time at the beginning of a 4-day Spanish holiday.
What a coincidence!
Spanish newspaper El Periodico, in its
online edition, informs that about a hundred ATC workers of the Madrid area are currently meeting in a hotel near Barajas Airport, in a conference-room which had previously been reserved. That sounds like a premeditated and coordinated action to me.
That said, in previous months the Spanish ATC association had managed to express their views and concerns to the general public which, after all, usually suffers from their strikes. Informing the general public of their cause and explaining the need for their actions was a good thing, it actually brought a solution to their concerns a lot closer. I am the first to defend the right to strike, whether I agree with the workers' demands or not.
But what is happening right now in Spain, with 99% of Spanish airports closed due to a complete absence off ALL ATC personnel, the Spanish government urgently working to get ATC under military control and, last but certainly not least, 250,000+ stranded passengers and/or passengers who can forget about their 4-day holiday and lose lots of money as of result of that, is completely unacceptable, unjustified and very likely completely illegal.
The right to strike is undeniable; the right to leave your job over bogus reasons just to annoy as many people as possible does not exist and could perhaps even be considered a criminal act.
Well done spanish ATC; when it comes to improving your working conditions, you've just dug your own grave!