The workers' uprising in the islands during the Transition

PalmOn November 20, 1975, the day Franco died, there were approximately 5,000 unemployed people in the Balearic Islands who, since the 1973 international oil crisis, felt completely abandoned. Three weeks later, on January 13, 1976, about fifty of them decided to express their discontent with the government of Arias Navarro by locking themselves inside the church of Sant Miquel in Palma. They did so with the complicity of the Bishop of Mallorca, Teodor Úbeda. The following day, they were violently evicted by the police, who were acting on orders from the Civil Governor, Carlos de Meer.

That closure would represent a significant milestone in the labor movement in the Balearic Islands. This is according to historian Pere Josep Garcia Munar, in his recently published work. Workers and trade unions, from dictatorship to democracy. Mallorca, 1968-1981 (Ediciones Documenta Balear): "It garnered the support of a large part of society and anti-Francoist organizations. Its main consequence was the dismissal, ten days later, of De Mer, who had been strongly criticized by Bishop Úbeda. It was the beginning of a struggle that, in its first year, would be marked by epic events. For those first victims of the tourist monoculture, in 1976 the worker-priest Jaume Santandreu inaugurated the Sapiencia hostel in Palma. Two years later, he would open the Can Gazà reception center in Secar de la Real. In the 1960s, in El Arenal, Santandreu had already become involved in caring for mainlanders living in slave-like conditions in hotels. He did so through a pioneering project, supported by Cáritas, called Acogiments, which would have the support of another worker-priest, Francesc Obrador.

'Decent wages, stable work'

In 1976, on the cusp of the so-called Transition, the workers who had survived the 1973 crisis had high hopes for the new collective bargaining agreements being negotiated. The Vertical Syndicate, aligned with the dictatorship, would be increasingly overshadowed by the clandestine union movement led by USO, CCOO, and ASUDTH (Alternative for a Unitary and Democratic Union of Hospitality Workers). "Given the uncertainty of the time," García states, "the police usually turned a blind eye to those unions. Some even took advantage of the situation to demand amnesty for political prisoners, free trade unions, and the restoration of democracy."

On April 8, three months after the events in Sant Miquel, the streets of Palma witnessed another mobilization, a pioneering one in the hospitality sector nationwide and the largest in the Balearic Islands since Franco's death. Nearly 4,000 workers participated in a two-kilometer march from El Molinar to the Labor Delegation headquarters. "The pretext," notes the historian, "was to protest against the recruitment campaigns some hotel owners were running, sending workers to the mainland to hire staff. They were lured there under false pretenses, promised good, well-paid jobs. However, given the high unemployment rate, these workers ended up with substandard working conditions, often living in shared quarters in hotel basements, in the so-called 'llorigueres' (a makeshift dormitory). It was by no means a xenophobic demonstration, as there were also mainland Spaniards among the participants." The slogans on the banners clearly reflected the political nature of the demonstration: 'Decent wages, stable jobs', 'Workers are not merchandise, control immigration', and 'Down with exploitation, up with wages'. Initially, the employers agreed to a pact, which they later failed to honor. It was only with the threat of a strike that they finally gave in.

The private bus drivers also knew how to play their cards right. This was an important sector because they transported tourists to hotels and took them on excursions around the island. They demanded no overtime, a wage increase, and more vacation days. "Faced with the employers' refusal," says Garcia, "on July 16th they began a strike that caused absolute chaos at the airport. Losses reached more than 100 million pesetas. Within four days, they had a collective bargaining agreement with their demands."

1976 was also a turbulent year for teachers. From January 14th to 21st, non-tenured secondary school teachers went on strike. "Aside from the political demands of the time," the researcher notes, "they demanded permanent contracts and exemption from competitive examinations, as they had demonstrated their competence." Next came the turn of the non-tenured teachers at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters and the private school teachers. The sector remained mobilized until 1977, when the Ministry accepted their demands. That year marked the legalization of trade unions and the founding of the Balearic Islands Teachers' Union (STEI).

Police violence in Plaça d'Espanya

On March 3, 1976, one of the worst massacres of the Spanish Transition took place in Vitoria (Basque Country). Police shot and killed five workers and wounded 150 during a strike in which protesters were dispersed from a church with tear gas. The then Minister of the Interior, Manuel Fraga, and his right-hand man, Rodolfo Martín Villa, defended the action, which, with the backing of King Juan Carlos, orchestrated by Franco, was intended to suppress a workers' movement yearning for freedom. These events would later inspire Lluís Llach's poignant song. Death bellsFaced with growing tension, Arias Navarro resigned as Prime Minister on July 1st. He was replaced by Adolfo Suárez, a former Falangist. The memory of what became known as the 'March 3rd massacre' was very much alive eight months later, on November 12th, during the first nationwide strike without the dictator. It was called by the Coordinating Committee of Trade Union Organizations (COS). Among the demands was the non-modification of Article 35 of the Labor Relations Law, which allowed for dismissal at will, with prior compensation. "It was," says the historian, "the last attempt to break with the regime through a major social protest. The pretext, as always, was labor-related, but the underlying motive was political."

According to the unions, the strike in the Balearic Islands was supported by approximately 35,000 workers. In Palma, the police spared no effort to disperse a gathering of some 5,000 people in Plaça d'Espanya. "That mobilization," García points out, "would be the first in the Balearic Islands in which demonstrators openly confronted the police. The day was one of the most repressive in the entire country. It culminated in a veritable pitched battle with chairs and stones flying, smoke grenades, and tear gas. Some thirty-seven people were arrested." One of those detained was Manolo Cámara, from the CCOO union. He was fined the largest penalty ever imposed on a union member: half a million pesetas. He was able to pay it thanks to a fundraising campaign organized by his colleagues.

On October 13, a month before that strike, the Mallorcan labor movement had already staged another action that garnered significant media attention. A group of 22 unemployed people organized a march to Madrid, later joined by a second group of 18. Their intention was to meet with the Minister of Labor to express their outrage that more than 300 people who had exhausted their unemployment benefits had been without work for over a year and a half. Nine days later, near Huesca, the Civil Guard forced the first group to return to the island. The second group, however, eventually reached Madrid by train, but they were unable to get a meeting with the minister.

The great disappointment

The island's trade unions also became involved in the campaign against the referendum on the Political Reform Law scheduled for December 15, 1976. They called for abstention or a "no" vote on a law that was supposed to allow the return of democracy, while maintaining the monarchy imposed by Franco and without the possibility of restoring the Republic. That campaign, however, proved futile. With a 77.8% turnout, the bill passed with the support of 94.17% of voters, who were roused to songs like Speak, people, speak either Freedom without anger"The results," says Garcia, "were a great disappointment for the more politically active trade unionists, who considered a complete break with the previous regime essential for more significant labor reforms. Since then, social mobilizations have diminished."

On June 15, 1977, Suárez's UCD party won the first democratic elections. On December 6, 1978, the Spanish Constitution was approved by referendum, marking a turning point for the labor movement. "The Constitution," García points out, "reaffirmed the institutionalization of unions, which led to the abandonment of assembly-based decision-making and a decline in membership in favor of elected delegates. Today, individualism prevails. The class consciousness of the past no longer exists. Unions have lost the socio-political component of the early individual labor disputes."