The store employees of the Inditex group are back on the streets protesting for better working conditions. Last year, employees from brands like Zara, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, and Stradivarius in Spain successfully negotiated a significant salary increase after months of mobilization that began on November 6, 2022 in A Coruña. A similar protest took place this Sunday, with hundreds of workers marching from Plaza de Lugo to Porta Real, where they were stopped by police and riot control officers as they tried to reach the home of Inditex founder Amancio Ortega and his daughter Marta, the current company president. The protest, organized by the CIG union, aims to address various social improvements needed for the workers, who are mostly women. They claim that their working conditions are far below those of other Inditex employees, with a lack of benefits such as meal tickets, vacation allowances, and reduced working hours for seniority, which are available to the male-dominated logistics platforms of the company.
The protest highlighted the disparity in benefits within the company, with female employees feeling undervalued and discriminated against. They demand fair compensation for their years of service and equal treatment compared to their male colleagues. The demonstration was led by a spirited Rosalía impersonator on a scooter, reenacting the singer’s visit to the Inditex headquarters in Arteixo last March. The workers chanted slogans such as “Less Rosalía and more meal tickets” and “Girls we are, girls we will be, but we will not remain silent”. The UGT union also joined the protest, displaying a banner criticizing the Ortega family’s yacht with the message: “Plenty of boat, but no distribution. Seniority is not visible from high seas”.
Inditex, with over 160,000 employees in Spain, including 27,000 store employees, has been under pressure from labor unions following the company’s record net profit of 5.381 billion euros in 2023, an increase of 30% from the previous year. While negotiations are ongoing in Madrid with other unions, the CIG, which has recently been invited to join the talks, believes that the offered improvements for store workers are insufficient. The CIG points out that the proposed reduction in working hours for female employees, 12 hours annually at age 58 compared to 48 hours at age 53 for their male counterparts, does not address the gender disparity and lack of equal treatment within the company.
The protest in A Coruña is part of a larger wave of protests organized by CCOO and UGT across Spain in response to Inditex’s financial success and the perceived inequality within the company. The employees are calling for fair treatment, equal opportunities, and better working conditions. The company has yet to respond to the specific demands of the workers, but the pressure from the unions and public scrutiny is increasing. As the debate over labor rights and gender equality continues, the workers of Inditex remain united in their fight for justice and fair treatment in the workplace.
