Packhouse workers in Almería have called off an indefinite strike, due to start today, after reaching an agreement with employers to resume negotiations on pay and working conditions.
The move paves the way for fresh talks to establish a new working contract after the unions rejected employers’ offer of a minimum 160 hours of work over a four-month period.
It was feared that the strike would cause a shortage of lettuce and other key products in European markets in the coming weeks.
The industrial unrest is the latest setback in what is proving to be one of southern Spain’s most challenging seasons in recent years. Last month, producers were forced to destroy large quantities of iceberg lettuce as market prices slumped following a glut of production brought on by the unseasonably mild winter.
