Since the morning of 9 November, trade union pickets have forced a number of meat-processing plants to suspend slaughter completely, while others are operating at significantly reduced capacity. As a result, livestock shipments to abattoirs are being cancelled on a large scale.
The situation is particularly difficult in Catalonia, where around 200 veterinary assistants at 30 abattoirs are also on strike. They are demanding mandatory transfer of their employment contracts under an upcoming procurement procedure for veterinary services. Their absence has sharply reduced slaughter rates even at plants not directly affected by trade union pickets.
Further disruption is expected on 11 November, when the meat industry strike coincides with a nationwide general strike.
Pig Farms Risk Becoming Overcrowded
For Spain’s pig sector, the disruption has come at a particularly sensitive time. Producers depend on a steady slaughter schedule to move animals off farms on time.
Reduced abattoir capacity could lead to heavier pigs, additional housing and feed costs, and greater difficulties in planning production cycles ahead of Christmas and New Year.
The strike began after negotiations on a new collective agreement broke down. On 6 November, a six-hour meeting between employers’ associations Anice and Fecic and trade unions CCOO and UGT ended without an agreement.
Employers proposed wage increases of 4% in 2026, 2.5% in 2027 and 2% in both 2028 and 2029, as well as a four-hour reduction in annual working time in 2029.
The unions are demanding annual wage increases of at least 4% that cannot be offset by other payments, inflation-linked indexation with retroactive effect, a 16-hour reduction in annual working time from the current 1,748 hours, and a maximum standard working day of nine hours.
The dispute has also moved into the legal arena: Spain’s National Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit filed by Anice and Fecic against CCOO and UGT over an alleged breach of the obligation to negotiate in good faith.
PigUA.info, based on materials from euromeatnews.com