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The logo of Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica is seen atop the company's building in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Telefonica told unions on Monday it was seeking to cut around 5,100 jobs in Spain by 2026 in an effort to reduce costs and adapt the company's size to the current market, a UGT union spokesperson said. The company based the decision on productivity, organization and technical reasons, the union spokesman said as Telefonica and the unions started negotiating the layoffs. In a statement Telefonica confirmed the labour "adjustment", but declined to say how many jobs it intended to axe. The company will negotiate the extent of the job cutting with the union, so that the actual cuts could be fewer than the 5,100 ones targeted by the company, UGT spokesperson Diego Gallart said.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Diego Gallart, Inti Landauro, Matteo Allievi, Jakub Olesiuk, Andrei Khalip, Jan Harvey Organizations: Telefonica, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain

☆ YouTuber sues Google Spain for alleged wrongful dismissal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Nov 23 (Reuters) - A Spanish YouTuber is suing Google Spain, a unit of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), for wrongful dismissal in a case that could set a precedent for content creators' labour rights, Spanish union UGT said on Thursday. Google Spain blocked Jota's YouTube channel "Último Bastión" (Last Stronghold) from earning advertising revenue in August. He said they had called on the court to classify Jota and YouTube's a labour relationship and his effective dismissal as "wrongful". Garcia and the union would not comment on the reasons for advertising revenue to his channel being cut. Google says that content creators are not employees and that in this particular case Jota's channel did not comply with YouTube monetisation policies.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, UGT, Bernardo Garcia, Garcia, Eduardo Magaldi, Emma Pinedo, Aislinn Laing, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Google, Alphabet Inc, YouTube, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Rights MADRID, Google Spain, Jota, Madrid, Spain, Europe

As Telefonica's rivals slashed prices to attract internet users, the Spanish company also borrowed to invest in new mobile and internet networks. But the secrecy with which STC (7010.SE) built its stake did catch some observers off guard, the person said. Telefonica said it was informed Tuesday about STC'S investment, after the companies had become more acquainted in recent months. STC sought to keep the stake under wraps until it could buy at least 9.9% of Telefonica, the person said. Middle Eastern investors have been taking stakes in Spanish companies for some time.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Jose Maria Alvarez, Pallete, Alvarez, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, UGT, Morgan Stanley, Linklaters, Motaz Al Angari, Al Angari, pare, EFG Hermes, Nadia Calvino, Inti Landauro, Tomas Cobos, Amy, Jo Crowley, Pablo Mayo, John O'Donnell, Anousha, Elisa Martinuzzi, David Gregorio, Ros Russell Organizations: Spanish Telecom, REUTERS, Rights, Telefonica, STC Group, STC, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Foresight, Saudi, United Arab, Vodafone, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Rights DUBAI, MADRID, Silicon Valley, Saudi, Riyadh, Telefonica, Saudi Arabia, Spanish, Latin America, theocracies, United Arab Emirates, Iberdrola, Davos, Gulf, London

He learned Saudi Arabia's largest telecoms operator, STC Group, aimed to be Telefonica's biggest shareholder, with an interest of 9.9%. The move is a vote of confidence in Telefonica, burdened by billions of dollars in debt while STC gains expertise to modernize Saudi telecoms infrastructure. As Telefonica's rivals slashed prices to attract internet users, the Spanish company also borrowed to invest in new mobile and internet networks. STC sought to keep the stake under wraps until it could buy at least 9.9% of Telefonica, the person said. Middle Eastern investors have been taking stakes in Spanish companies for some time.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, Jose Maria Alvarez, Pallete, Alvarez, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, UGT, Morgan Stanley, Linklaters, Motaz Al Angari, Al Angari, pare, EFG Hermes, Inti Landauro, Tomas Cobos, Amy, Jo Crowley, Pablo Mayo, John O'Donnell, Anousha, Elisa Martinuzzi, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Spanish Telecom, REUTERS, Rights, Telefonica, STC Group, STC, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Foresight, Saudi, United Arab, Vodafone, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Rights DUBAI, MADRID, Silicon Valley, Saudi, Riyadh, Telefonica, Saudi Arabia, Spanish, Latin America, theocracies, United Arab Emirates, Iberdrola, Davos, Gulf, London

☆ Zara owner Inditex agrees to 20% pay rise in Spain -union groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Zara owner Inditex reached an agreement to raise salaries in its Spanish stores by an average 20%, Spain's two largest unions, CCOO and UGT, said on Thursday night. The salary increases reached as much as 40% in the areas of Spain that were the least well paid, UGT said in a statement. Union groups said Inditex also agreed to continue increasing salaries in line with inflation over the next three years. In November, Inditex had agreed with UGT and CCOO to pay a one-off bonus of 1,000 euros in February for all full-time shop assistants employed across Spain, and now it has agreed to pay the same bonus next year. Inditex employs 165,000 people in 177 countries, with a third of all staff based in Spain, according to its annual report.

☆ Spanish court rules Amazon 'Flex' couriers were falsely self-employed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A Spanish court has ruled that Amazon (AMZN.O) must compensate self-employed couriers who used their own vehicles for deliveries, a move welcomed by a labour union that has criticised worker conditions in the "gig economy". Amazon scrapped the Flex programme in Spain last year, after a 2020 Supreme Court ruling forced companies to hire freelance couriers as staff and the government introduced a pioneering law to the same effect in 2021. "Amazon is a company that is not only a logistics and transport operator, but also a courier and messenger service provider," the judge said. According to the court, Amazon made all decisions related to the service - including schedules, geographic distribution and remuneration - and used an app to direct and coordinate the couriers, who "lacked their own and autonomous business organisation". "We're happy with the result and especially happy that this Amazon Flex model no longer exists," Ranz added.

☆ H&M agrees to pay a 500 euro bonus to 4,000 workers in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Swedish fashion retailer H&M (HMb.ST) agreed to pay a 500 euro ($530) bonus to some 4,000 shop workers in Spain in January, two unions said on Wednesday, after its arch-rival Inditex (ITX.MC) offered 1,000 euros to its home country shop assistants. The world's biggest fashion retailers are responding to demands from their workers for higher pay to offset soaring consumer prices. The Sweden-based fashion retailer will pay 500 euros to all its shop workers who have been employed in Spain at least since January 2022. The company will pay 250 euros to those who have worked at least six months. Soaring consumer prices have pushed unions in Spain to press sometimes reluctant employers for pay raises.

☆ Zara workers in Spain start protests to demand higher pay
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Dozens of Zara shop assistants protested in Madrid on Thursday outside the global fashion giant's largest store to demand higher pay, and some workers in its home town in northwest Spain went on strike on the eve of its Black Friday sales campaign. In the town of A Coruna, where the first Zara store opened in 1975, Inditex now has 44 stores. Two of those, a Zara store and a Massimo Dutti shop were closed on Thursday, and some 1,000 shopworkers were preparing to go on a one-day strike the following day on Black Friday. Shop assistants' monthly wages at Inditex stores in Madrid and A Coruna are below 1,400 euros, according to the unions. "If we don't get better wages we will call for more protests in December and January," she said.

☆ Spanish shopworkers' unions to discuss wages with Zara bosses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Trade unions representing about 1,000 Zara shop assistants in the Spanish apparel maker's hometown of A Coruña will meet with the company on Thursday to negotiate a pay rise, a union leader said. Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC) has so far offered a rise of 183 euros per month, staggered over three years, on salaries that range between 1,058 euros and 1,400 euros a month, Naveiro said. Representatives of the company's two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, confirmed they will also attend the meeting. "We're placing our bets on negotiations because Inditex is sitting at the table," Lucia Trenor, a union leader at CCOO said. The shop assistants want to be paid the same as workers at the company's logistics centres, who earn about 2,000 euros a month.

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