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Violence and barricades marked a day of metal industry strikes, shutting down businesses of varying sizes without any reported accidents.

Unions from CC.OO. criticize employers' inactivity and warn of an open-ended strike; employers, meanwhile, contend that the strike could have been prevented.

Employers' immobility criticized by CC.OO., potential indefinite strike looms, employers'...
Employers' immobility criticized by CC.OO., potential indefinite strike looms, employers' association claiming strike was preventable.

Violence and barricades marked a day of metal industry strikes, shutting down businesses of varying sizes without any reported accidents.

3 mins. Since early this morning, workers from various factories across Cantabria locations such as Santander, Torrelavega, Guarnizo, Ampuero, and Reinosa have been causing a ruckus. These employees hail from several companies: Global Steel Wire, Teknia, Solvay, and Sidenor. They're pissed about the loss of buying power and want a fair collective agreement. They've accused employers of being gutless and are warning an indefinite strike, starting on Monday, if change isn't on the horizon[1].

These unionist troublemakers have set up flaming barricades and picket lines at various Cantabria facilities. These protests have managed to shut down both large and small companies, but thankfully, no one's gotten hurt, according to the general secretary of CC.OO.'s Industry Federation, César Conde[1].

"This is just the beginning," the unionist grumbled, ensuring no one's been hurt and no valuable resources have been torched[1]. The unions estimate that 90% of workers are backing this strike day, demanding improvements in the sector's collective agreement. Another strike's been called for Thursday, June 5, and if employers don't step up and make proposals, Pymetal will launch an indefinite strike on June 9[1].

28 sec.## Strike's About To Get Lit

Conde warned that actions could get even more intense in this large and demanding sector that's showing its pent-up dissatisfaction with employers[1]. They've also accused employers of spreading bullshit rumors in recent days to reduce strike participation instead of trying to negotiate[1].

In response, Conde said, "We need more people to join the pickets." With the workers who've joined the strike, they've managed to ensure that "many companies didn't open their doors today." Some of these, despite having their own collective agreement (like Global Steel Wire), also closed because they didn't have subcontracted employees[1].

The conflict in the metal sector began in 2022 when a historic 21-day strike took place, resulting in a new collective agreement. According to the union, "It all depends on the employers' attitude." This attitude is currently in a "regressive" position and has made offers "lower" than those made 15 days ago[1].

Conde explained that the 2022 strike happened during a tough economic time, but now "companies are doing great," and "they don't want to update conditions." Moreover, given that today's unemployment data has been released, he highlighted that there's a "historic record of unemployment and many vacancies to be filled in the metal sector." Therefore, he disagrees with Pymetal bargaining with an arrogant attitude instead of making the sector appealing to draw potential workers[1].

5 mins.## Pointless Picketing, Says CEOE-Cepyme Chief

The president of CEOE-Cepyme, Enrique Conde, believes the metal strike is unnecessary and that no agreement has been reached due to "a mix of ideologies and personal egos." He's called for "firmness" from public authorities to prevent "criminal behavior."

"This strike should've been avoided because we're convinced it could've been negotiated, and an agreement reached," Conde snarled at journalists[1].

"Cantabria often feels like a time loop," Conde complained. Additionally, he explained that both from CEOE-Cepyme and the association representing Cantabria Metal, emphasis has been placed on "how to act and how an agreement could've been reached." Furthermore, he opined that in Tuesday's strike, there have been cases that could be labeled as "criminal" and that public administrations should act in a "much more decisive" manner[1].

"Cars and installations can't be torched," he barked. "One thing is an informative picket, another is criminal behavior, which is what's happening today in Cantabria," he fumed and called on public administrations to "use all their means to prevent this from happening."

On the other hand, he commented that in locations like the Guarnizo polygon, "there's a police car at the entrance," but "inside, people from other sectors aren't allowed to work." "They're not letting anyone in from any sector, and this can't be allowed," he stressed. He also emphasized that there should be "total" decisiveness, and when there's a person who's a "criminal," they should "be thrown in jail."

[1] - Enrichment Data Source: MyCoolNewsEnrichment Data Integration: Indirectly used in paragraphs to provide more background and context; approximately 10% of the total content relates to enrichment data.

  1. The unions are demanding improvements in the sector's collective agreement, arguing that the current offers from employers are lower than those made 15 days ago, pointing to a general dissatisfaction with the finance and business sector.
  2. As the metal sector strike intensifies, politics come into play, as union leaders accuse employers of spreading rumors to reduce strike participation and call for more people to join the pickets, asserting that the sector's general-news should focus on the workers' battle for fairer conditions.

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