The two main unions in Spain said on Monday that shop assistants at H&M stores across the nation will strike for three days in June in protest of lower pay and increased work demands.
The dates of the strikes, which have been called by the CCOO and UGT trade unions, are 20th, 24th and 26th June. These dates fall on the first days of the sales season. The two organisations said in a statement that on the first day of the strikes, about 4,000 store employees will take a four-hour break from work.
The planned protests followed several meetings between representatives of the two union groups with the fast fashion company over the last few months.
“We have asked the company to improve wages and work conditions of the staff and after all these months, the company has not responded to our requests,” the unions said
The shop workers also lament the lengthy hours that are required of them because they must cover for absent coworkers. The situation “can no longer be tolerated” once the summer sales start, they declared.
After arch-rival Zara owner Inditex announced a € 1,000 incentive to store assistants in Spain last December, H&M agreed to provide a € 500 (US $ 538) bonus to shop workers in Spain and Portugal.
In response to workers’ requests for better compensation to counter rising consumer prices, Inditex agreed to a 20 per cent increase in the average income for shop employees in Zara’s home market of Spain at the beginning of the year.
