Barcelona are facing a potential disruption to operations surrounding the Clasico against Real Madrid on October 25, with a group representing the club’s permanent seasonal workers announcing a three-day strike over what they describe as deteriorating working conditions.
According to SPORT, the industrial action will begin at midnight on October 23 and continue until 06:00 on October 26, covering the period of one of the biggest fixtures on Barcelona’s calendar.
The workers cite staff shortages, alleged contractual irregularities and a lack of concrete commitments from the club among their main grievances.
Barcelona, however, insist that the strike will not jeopardise the staging of the Clasico or other sporting events scheduled during the period.
Why Barcelona’s seasonal workers are striking
The strike committee has accused the club of allowing working conditions to deteriorate, pointing to “the failure to honour agreements, contractual irregularities, and instances of discrimination between male and female staff at the same club.”
The group has also raised concerns about services being outsourced to external companies, arguing that the situation is affecting the quality of services provided to members and supporters.
Barcelona are facing workers’ strike ahead of El Clasico. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
“We warn that this situation is undermining service standards, reducing the ability to respond to incidents and harming the service provided to members and supporters.
“We consider this industrial action to be a last resort in the face of a lack of progress and concrete commitments,” the strike committee said in a statement.
The workers are demanding a pay rise and a 50% increase in their numbers, which would take the workforce from approximately 60 to 90 employees.
Clasico is among several Barcelona events affected
The industrial action will extend beyond the men’s first-team meeting with Real Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou.
According to SPORT, it will also affect all facilities where the workers carry out their duties, including the Johan Cruyff Stadium, the Palau Blaugrana and the Joan Gamper Training Centre.
Consequently, Barcelona’s women’s first-team matches, basketball and handball fixtures, and youth-team activities could also be affected during the strike period.
Barcelona have a decision to make (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
As such, the Clasico is expected to face particular operational pressure because of the scale of the event.
Barcelona estimate that a match of this magnitude involves around 80,000 people, including spectators and security personnel deployed around the stadium.
Barcelona insist Real Madrid match will go ahead
Despite the workers’ concerns, Barcelona maintain that they have sufficient organisational capacity to manage any potential incidents and ensure that matches proceed normally.
The club has also emphasised that the group consists of around 60 permanent seasonal workers operating under their own collective agreement, with pay conditions that it says exceed the sector’s usual standards.
Barcelona insist they respect the employees’ demands and will continue negotiations.
However, with the strike scheduled to overlap with the Real Madrid fixture, the outcome of those discussions will be important in determining how the club manages operations throughout the busy period.