Agreement in principle between Mallorcan bus drivers and employers to call off the strike

PalmThe SATI union and the employers' association reached an agreement in principle this Thursday, after meeting again at the Arbitration and Mediation Court (Tamib) of the Balearic Islands. However, the agreement must be ratified at an assembly. Meanwhile, the protests continued, and this Thursday afternoon, workers gathered again at the Intermodal Station. During the event, they displayed banners and chanted slogans such as "We are not their slaves," "Exploiters," and "They want to silence us" to express their dissatisfaction.

According to the Business Association of Regular Passenger Transport of the Balearic Islands, after intense negotiations, the eight passenger transport concessionaires in the Balearic Islands have reached an agreement in principle with SATI. The association has taken this decision out of "social responsibility and for the benefit of users," although it acknowledges that "it will entail an increase in operating costs."

The president of the Balearic Business Federation of Transport (FEBT), Mar Baleta, and the manager of the federation, Petra Mut, have explained that, although "the profitability of the companies will be affected", the most relevant terms of the agreement are the following: ~BK_S

• 2025: 5%
• 2026: 3%
• 2027: CPI plus 0.5%
• 2028: CPI

Conditions for vacation:

• Vacation days will be counted as working days, rather than calendar days, as is currently the case.
• The number of vacation days is improved.

Other improvements:

• In relation to the working day and rest periods.

Resistance box

Meanwhile, SATI union representatives have announced the creation of a strike fund to continue the strike and financially support affected workers. "They want to silence us, but they won't succeed," stated union sources, who held an emergency meeting on Thursday after the employers walked out of the meeting on Wednesday, when an agreement had already been reached and only the signing remained.

"The resistance fund will help us continue fighting against this merciless employer," they stated, confident that this measure will maintain a high level of strike participation. "If the employers think they'll exhaust us, they're in trouble. We will continue to lead the way, and with increasing strength. We remind you that the text of the preliminary agreement is still on the table, but we don't know for how long," they emphasized.

The workers' representatives have appealed to everyone who wants to help the TIB workers on strike. They have stated that any contribution will be welcomed and have provided the account number for donations:

Last Wednesday, after more than eight hours of meeting, the parties had reached "a text that only needed to be signed." However, according to the union, the management team began to fracture, and the companies gradually withdrew from the agreement until the rupture occurred. Union representatives reported that the management team left the table and left the room "without signing, without warning, or giving any kind of explanation." They reported that they had gone out to eat while waiting for the signing, and upon their return, everyone had disappeared.

Furthermore, they accused the concessionaires of "playing games with the Government" and of "running rampant in the Islands with impunity." In this regard, SATI has urged the Prime Minister, Marga Prohens, to "take action on the matter," bring the companies to their senses, and consider the internalization of public transport services as an "essential service for citizens." The strike continued this Thursday and has now lasted ten days with minimal services.

Prohens appreciates the "efforts" of the employers' association and unions.

For her part, the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, thanked the FEBT and the SATI union this Friday "for their efforts in reaching a preliminary agreement to improve workers' conditions and suspend the TIB strike."

In a message on the X network, the President welcomed "the willingness to reach an agreement and the responsibility" of the parties in reaching an understanding in principle that "allows for improving workers' working conditions and guaranteeing the quality of public transport in the Balearic Islands."

Prohens described the resumption of normal service as "good news" and thanked users for their understanding. He also called on employers and workers to reach a consensus on a new collective bargaining agreement "that will improve working conditions, guarantee service, and end the strike, given the harm it causes to public transport users."