Three-day cleaners and garbage collectors strike in Barcelona called off

Cleaners and garbage collectors in Barcelona decided to call off the strike planned from Sunday at 9 pm until Wednesday at 9 pm, coinciding with the Christmas festivities, to protest against "the lack of improvements in working conditions" and the suspension of negotiations on a new collective agreement between companies and workers.

The UGT union called the strike, but on Saturday afternoon, a little bit over 24 hours before the scheduled strike was supposed to start, the union called off the service halt. Earlier on Saturday morning, the city council urged both sides to reach an agreement, as deputy mayor Laia Bonet said that there was still time.

Details on the new collective agreement between workers' unions and the different companies in charge of cleaning and garbage collection have not yet been made public.

During the last days, local authorities had called on residents to cooperate to reduce garbage and keep it at home as much as possible.

Among the recommendations, politicians encouraged citizens to throw away all residue on Saturday, before the strike was supposed to start.

Authorities recommended recycling and properly separating residues among containers to prevent bins from reaching their maximum capacity. During the strike, at least one garbage collection was planned, and cleaning near health centers and markets was also confirmed.

After the strike, street cleaning and garbage collection were supposed to resume on December 25 from 9 pm. With the strike being called off, regular service will continue on Christmas Eve.

70-day strike

In Arboç, a municipality south of Barcelona, the situation is getting worse every day. The garbage collectors have been on strike for 70 days.

The situation has forced the city council to declare another public health emergency and order a massive street cleaning.

"The right to strike is a recognized right, but there is also the right to public health," city mayor Joan Sans said on Saturday. "As a mayor, I will fight for this," he added.

A new cleaning contract with a new company will begin on January 1, and "all the problems should be resolved," Sans said.