Dispute hits Andalusia shipyards

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Workers at the three Izar shipyards in Andalusia,, southern Spain, are threatened with lay-offs due to a lack of work from 2005. Meanwhile, collective bargaining for the shipyards is deadlocked in early 2004 due to disagreement over pay increases. The situation led to high-profile protests by the workforce in February.

Negotiations over a new collective agreement for three three shipyards located in Andalusia (southern Spain), now under the umbrella of the Izar company, have been deadlocked over late 2003 and early 2004. The Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) and the General Workers’ Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT) have stated that they will accept arbitration to reach a solution on the issues of pay rises, promotion and harmonisation of pay and working time. According to the trade unions, their pay demands for 2004 will add EUR 2.4 million to a total paybill of EUR 300 million. According to Izar management, the unions' pay demands would involve a 6.8% increase in the paybill, which would increase costs at a time when there is no prospect of new work and the three shipyards will complete their current contracts between mid-2004 and late 2005. Competition from countries with cheaper labour is very strong. Therefore, the pay increase demanded by the unions would reduce the competitiveness of the company and lead to a 1.5% increase in the price of its ships, management stated. The situation is such that temporary lay-offs may be implemented.

Izar belongs to the State Holding Company (Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales, SEPI) and was created from a merger of the former Bazán and Astilleros Españoles (ES0003274N). It currently provides direct employment for 3,043 workers at three sites (Seville, Puerto Real and San Fernando). The indirect employment generated by the shipyards' activity is three or four times greater than this figure, which is an indication of the importance of these shipyards for the economy of Andalusia

The shipyards' foreseeable workload extends only to 2005, and the lack of new contracts means that employment cannot be guaranteed beyond that time. The San Fernando shipyard is currently building a ferry for a company in the Faroe Islands and two large yachts. The three vessels will be finished by the end of 2005. The shipyard in Seville is building two ferries for Algeria that will be finished in May and August 2004. This contract was awarded after the Spanish government approved a loan of EUR 64 million for the Algerian navy in May 2003. The third site, at Puerto Real, is working on three ships to transport liquefied natural gas for the Elcano company. It is also building two more, one for the shipping firm Knutsen and one for the shipping firm Fernández Tapia, which will provide services to Gas Natural-Repsol YPF.

The poor prospects for the future, the threat of temporary lay-offs and the deadlock in collective bargaining led during February 2004 to several violent mobilisations, demonstrations, traffic blockades and conflicts with the police. Tension has also been increasing in shipyards in other regions, such as El Ferrol (Galicia) and Sestao (Basque Country), which also have limited workloads.

The president of the regional government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía), Manuel Chávez, has met trade union representatives to seek an alternative to tackle the lack of work for the shipyards. He also criticised the surveillance methods allegedly used by company management, which has filmed workers' meetings. According to the workers' representatives, this is a violation of trade union freedom. On the other hand, the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organisations (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales, CEOE) has accused some workers at Izar of vandalism.