Delete
Workers protest outside the Picasso Museum SUR
Malaga Picasso Museum staff strike following deadlock in pay negotiations

Malaga Picasso Museum staff strike following deadlock in pay negotiations

Today's action comes as the museum celebrates its 20th anniversary and 50 years since the death of the artist who was born in the city

Francisco Griñán

Malaga

Friday, 2 June 2023, 08:28

Compartir

Workers at Malaga’s Picasso Museum will go on strike today (Friday, 2 June) following failed mediation talks with the heads of the popular city centre tourist attraction over pay negotiations.

Both parties failed to reach an agreement on Thursday, 1 June at the extrajudicial system for the resolution of labour disputes in Andalucía (SERCLA), which means workers will now go on strike at the museum today between 10am and 1pm.

Workers are asking for higher salaries following the expiry of the last agreement last year, and want to be paid for the 25% loss of purchasing power they claim they have suffered after 11 years without a salary raise.

The museum came back with an offer of an 8% increase, but the workers described it as an "ultimatum", with 93% of the gallery's workforce rejecting it.

Threat

The works council also strongly rejected an apparent warning call from the museum that in the case "of not reaching an agreement, they would opt for other measures such as a possible outsourcing of services".

Union representatives considered the statement a "threat" and a "disproportionate intimidation", as well as "a punishment to the workers, after twenty years of commitment, effort, professionalism and good work for democratically demanding the negotiation of a collective agreement in accordance with the category, visitors and media repercussion of the MPM".

Anniversary

But museum managament considered the 8% offer "an important salary improvement" with the possibility of "establishing an additional 2% in improvements in the complements until reaching, together with the rest of the increases, a global increase of 10% of the wage bill and an accumulated increase of 18.73% in five years".

The deadlock in negotiations comes as the museum celebrates its 20th anniversary and 50 years since the death of Pablo Picasso. The works council requested on Thursday at the Sercla that "the Junta de Andalucía intervene immediately to mediate in this conflict".

SUR has contacted the museum’s management, but is yet to receive a response.

Reporta un error en esta noticia

* Campos obligatorios