The spectre of the rubbish strike returns to Mallorca in the middle of summer. From this Monday at 22:00, Sóller will suffer an indefinite stoppage affecting waste collection, street cleaning, ORA, and the municipal nursery.
The labour conflict at Sóller 2010 erupts at the worst possible time. Workers at the municipal public company have announced an indefinite strike that will begin next Monday at 22:00, after the Balearic Arbitration and Mediation Tribunal (Tamib) failed to reach an agreement between the parties. The measure will affect 14,000 residents and the thousands of tourists who visit this town in the Serra de Tramuntana every day during the peak season.
A conflict that was on the horizon
Negotiations had been stalled for weeks. Last April, the company and the unions signed a three-year agreement that included a global salary increase of 25%, but the calm did not last long. According to UGT, the Town Hall has left the service with one third of the staff this summer, which they consider a “malicious maneuver to degrade the cleaning of the municipality and justify a future privatisation.”
The union claims that the management of Sóller 2010 intends to “cut recognised economic rights” that had already been signed. Among the workers' demands are: maintaining holiday pay as it has been paid for over ten years, accepting a climate emergency protocol to protect their health, renouncing subcontracting or privatisation, and correcting deficiencies in the agreement with its publication in the BOIB.
This Saturday at 10:00, employees will gather in the main square of Sóller to protest against the blockage of collective bargaining and the reduction of rights. The strike will not only affect rubbish collection and street cleaning but also the services of the municipal nursery and ORA, further complicating life in the municipality.
A hot summer in Sóller
The stoppage comes amid a heatwave, with temperatures nearing 40ºC in Mallorca. If the strike continues, the accumulation of waste could become a serious public health issue. The mayor of Sóller, Jaume Servera, has called for responsibility from both parties to avoid “an unsustainable situation for residents and visitors.”
From the management of Sóller 2010, they claim to have incorporated the workers' demands, but UGT denies this: “It is the management that has put a new and abusive demand on the table, intending to cut already signed rights.” The union insists that the only way to avoid the strike is a binding agreement that guarantees what was agreed.
Background and consequences
This is not the first time that Sóller has experienced a labour conflict of this kind. In 2023, a similar strike in rubbish collection lasted 12 days and forced the intervention of the Mallorca Council. Now, the context is worse: mid-August, mass tourism, and extreme temperatures. Merchants have already expressed their concern about the impact on the town's image, which relies on tourism.
Residents, for their part, fear that the streets will be filled with rubbish bags and bad smells, as happened during previous strikes. María Antonia, a resident of the centre, explains: “We went through this a few years ago and it was hell. We cannot afford another summer like this.”
The strike is called by UGT and supported by the majority of the staff of Sóller 2010, which comprises around 50 workers. The public company provides essential services not only for cleaning but also for regulated parking and early childhood care.
At the moment, no new meetings are scheduled. The next step will be the concentration on Saturday, which the unions hope will serve to pressure the Town Hall. If there is no agreement, from Monday at 22:00, Sóller will be without rubbish collection until further notice.
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