Inditex workers protest in Madrid for a wage increase and working conditions "worthy"

7 Jan. () –

Inditex workers have demonstrated in Madrid this Saturday, at the beginning of the winter sales, for a wage increase and “decent” working conditions, during a day of strike called by the CGT union.

Several hundred people have gathered to protest on Calle Preciados in Madrid in a day of shop assistants’ strike that was called throughout Spain, but which has had its greatest impact in the Community of Madrid.

This concentration occurs after the agreement reached in Galicia on December 23 after several days of protests, in which the store employees of A Coruña reached an agreement with the group. Under this agreement, store staff, more than 1,500 people in Galicia, will have a monthly increase in salary bonuses of 322 euros during the first year, 362 euros during the second and 382 euros thereafter.

The secretary of the state section of CGT in Zara and Lefties, Ánibal Maestro, explained that the Inditex workers have decided to “take a step forward against precariousness”.

“The benefits are distributed between the shareholders and directors meeting and we demand a salary increase, so that they realize that the workers are the engine,” he defended.

For their part, the CCOO and UGT announced this week that they will start negotiating with Inditex on January 25 at the state table on global wage measures that offset the impact of inflation in all group companies and in all territories.

Specifically, the CCOO recalled that in recent weeks, and in coordination with the UGT, the firm chaired by Marta Ortega has been asked to formalize the state table throughout this month to address global aspects of salary policy in all companies of the group and in all territories, bearing in mind both the situation and levels of provincial collective agreements, as well as the impact that inflation is having on the purchasing power of the workforce, as well as the commitment to review and improve the system of commissions for Store staff.

This Saturday, the Inditex firms (Zara, Stradivarius, Bershka, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Lefties and Oysho) officially start their winter sales, although they were brought forward yesterday, Friday, Three Kings Day, for purchases over the Internet.