Palma parking union warns of protests as bays double

Palma, Mallorca, now has around 24,000 regulated parking bays: a union warns that parking staff could protest as their patrol areas grow. On Tuesday, 27 October, the Independent Union of Workers and Employees of the Balearics (Siteib) said workers at Palma’s Municipal Parking and Projects Company (SMAP) were frustrated by stalled pay talks and problems in the expanded regulated parking zone, known as ORA. The union says the zone has grown from around 12,000 bays without a matching rise in staff.

Talks on a new agreement have made little progress in almost two years, Siteib says. It argues that wages have not kept pace with the cost of living. The union also says a new vehicle-checking system still does not work as it should after a month in use, making the wardens’ larger patrol areas harder to manage.

Siteib says staff should not be blamed for the company’s technical or organisational problems. It reports staffing and infrastructure shortages in other departments, too, and says many workers have asked their works council for firm action.

The union warns that the problems could affect traffic movement and how people share Palma’s streets. It has raised the possibility of protests, but has not said whether or when they will happen.

Topics: Jobs & labour · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com