And my final 2p worth is that the Spanish Government are going to do a 'Reagan' and will end up firing everybody and re-hire on new contracts.
There is no need for them to do this, currently the Royal Decrees unilaterally alter the previous agreements, the employees can currently not even resign at the moment.
The previous collective agreement was just that,
an agreement, between AENA and employees. The exorbitant salaries achieved by some Spanish ATCs was the justification for the action taken but not the cause of the problem. The cause of the high salaries was/is the chronic understaffing which resulted in massive overtime needed, (horse or cart?)... The staffing problem has been reduced by imposing effectively an extra 500 hours per annum per employee, but is still far from resolved; there is still a staffing crisis.
The 1st Royal Decree amended various 'employment entitlements'. The decree imposed changes to normal working practices; particularly relating to working hours, timetable, shift work, salary system, work and productivity system, and duties.
The second Royal Decree further amended these entitlements.
The 3rd Royal Decree was necessary due to the 'maximum annual allowed hours' contained in either the 2nd or 1st decree as a protection to the controllers was going to be exhausted only 10 months after the first Decree.
The timing of the 3rd Decree (along with it's contents) was the catalyst for the action taken; regardless of what day it was. It further amended working hours and all sorts of leave entitlements including sick-leave.
Whilst it has been stated in multiple places that the action taken was a "sick out" I ask how many reasonable men/women would not actually feel sick/stressed/whatever after the year the Spanish ATCs have endured, IMHO, the latest attack on employment conditions was the straw that broke the camels back. I wouldn't have been in the right mental place to go to work in such circumstances I'm sure of that.
None of the content of any of the Royal Decrees have been negotiated but simply imposed. What is stopping the 4th, 5th, 6th Decree etc.? What hope have the Spanish ATCs got at getting a 'fair deal' now. Sure what they had before was great, but not so since Feb 2010. What is the legality of these decrees, they may yet prove in law to be unconstitutional and thus illegal.
It matters not what the conditions of employment were, it matters what they now are. The concept of effectively no sick leave entitlements and constant changes to working conditions is not something I would want imposed on me and if you think about it logically you too wouldn't want it either.
For those that have stated they should all just quit, well it's now not a valid option, it's potentially and act of treason. But at the same time what is the realistic option, fight for your rights while employed or after resignation? What other employment options are in the Spanish economy at present?
Whether or not you are happy with the service Spanish ATC provide or have a view on the current economic conditions in Spain; it certainly is not the fault of Spanish ATC. They had a contract they worked to it. The employer with government sponsorship removed the conditions (3 times now) with no guarantees they won't do it again.
Additionally I'd argue it's not the fault of Spanish ATCs in relation to the perceptions of a 'crap service' they have been chronically short of staff for more than a decade... It's been bad, it may get worse yet?
The whole thing IMHO is very very sad and an inditement upon citizens rights from a supposed modern first world country.