Vehicle inspections idle during first days of strikes at nine ITV test centres in Malaga province

The first of the eight days of strike action called by the CC OO and UGT trade unions of the technical vehicle inspection centres in Andalucía, which affects the nine test centres in Malaga province, had its main picket line in the test centre on the Guadalhorce industrial estate in the provincial capital. This is one of the largest in the Andalucía region and, like the rest, is managed by the company Verificaciones Industriales de Andalucía (Veiasa), which is attached to the ministry of industry of the Junta de Andalucía.

Several hundred people gathered at the gates of the premises in Calle Diderot (half of them National Police), representing three-quarters of the total workforce in Malaga, according to the organising unions. The strike participation rate, as explained by the regional UGT coordinator for Veiasa, Romualdo Barcala, and Juan Gómez, deputy general secretary of CC OO, is around 94 per cent, above the regional average of 90 per cent.

The pressure has resulted in the mandatory technical vehicle inspections at the ITV centres being kept to a minimum. At the Guadalhorce centre, vehicles entered in dribs and drabs, and only after the driver had passed the "filter" of the picket located at the entrance and justified that their case was within the minimum services, i.e. preference for ambulances, fire brigade, those belonging to the security forces and public transport vehicles. Others that were allowed through included vehicles that had to undergo an inspection to check the correction of defects detected in a previous inspection, or those whose ITV had expired, or will expire during the days of the strike, and which have already made an appointment.

This is what happened to Jose Miguel Aguilar, from Alhaurín de la Torre, who patiently waited for them to let him through, as he was in danger of being fined for not having the legal roadworthiness certificate, as it was out of date. "I called the company and they told me that they only attended to emergencies and second inspections, for which I had an appointment, and here I am," he explained.

"It is the only way we have left to claim our rights, and it has been very complicated to take this decision", said Barcala, who made it clear that it is necessary to put an end to "inequalities" such as the differences in pay for the same work that currently exist. On behalf of the CC OO, Juan Gómez, added that the failure to update the agreement, which they have been protesting against for almost five years, affects issues such as paid leave.

In the first hours of the strike at the Guadalhorce ITV centre, which if there is no agreement will continue on 23, 26, 27, 28 and 30 September, there have been no incidents, except for the occasional firecracker or lighting of flares. This strike has been mirrored in other centres of the ITV network in the eight Andalusian provinces.

The unions, who apologise for the inconvenience to the public, estimate that the strike will affect some four thousand appointments a day in Malaga alone. If this is multiplied by the eight days of protests, the result is more than 33,000 in the province; in Andalucía, it would be around 160,000.

According to Veiasa's own data, Malaga province, with 71.05 per cent of workers on strike, was, together with Cadiz (73.86 per cent), the province with the least activity in the inspection centres as a result of the protest action. For the calculations, the company took into account that the strike has been supported by more than seventy per cent of the 266 employees who are part of the effective staff at the moment (i.e. those who are not absent for justified reasons such as holidays, sick leave or personal matters), out of a total of 335. In the case of Almeria, it was 58.41 per cent, in Cordoba, 47.93 per cent, Granada, 27.03 per cent, Huelva, 59.21 per cent, Jaén, 58.59 per cent, and in Seville, 49.04 per cent.

The Andalusian percentage, with an effective workforce of 1,237 employees out of a total of 1,647, was 56.35 per cent.

Veiasa also informed of the "measures it is taking to minimise the inconvenience to users who could be affected". Firstly, it explained that direct communication has been established with those who have to go to the centres, "with the aim of avoiding unnecessary journeys". "Veiasa has sent a cancellation SMS text message to users whose appointments could be affected by the strike, informing them of the situation," a statement said. The regional government said the company, "will contact users to reschedule all cancelled ITVs as soon as possible".

Likewise, it is made clear that if a user with an appointment travels to the station and is unable to carry out the inspection, they will be able to request a cancellation certificate, which will be valid to justify the situation to the authorities if necessary. Similarly, the bonuses provided for will not be affected by this incident, as the date of the cancelled appointment will be maintained as a reference.