Spanish Embassy & Consulate staff in UK go on indefinite strike from Monday

Staff at the Spanish Embassy and Consulates in London, Manchester and Edinburgh will be going on an indefinite strike starting on Monday 14 March which will affect the issuing of visas, passports and other services. They are striking for an improvement in their pay and work conditions.

‘It is possible that the provision of services by the Consulates will be affected, especially in London,’ Spain’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday in a short statement.

‘The provision of minimum services will be guaranteed to offer the highest possible level of attention to the public and justified emergency situations will be dealt with as a priority,’ the ministry stressed.

The Embassy and Consulates are responsible for issuing Spanish passports, offering assistance to Spanish nationals, as well as processing visas for British citizens who want to move to Spain, as well as other services.

The staff are demanding a salary update after 13 years of reported wage freezes, equal pay for all workers in the same administrative category and the option of contributing to Spain’s social security system rather than the UK’s, which since Brexit offers higher benefits than the British system.

Staff members will stage a protest outside the Spanish Embassy in London at 12.30pm on Monday. The strike reportedly has the support of the majority of the embassy and consular workers and follows months of negotiations during which the demands of the group have not been been met.

Spanish consular staff already staged two strikes in 2015 and 2017 for reasons relating to pay and work conditions. More than 200,000 Spanish nationals are residents in the UK.

📢ANUNCIO IMPORTANTE❗: a partir del 14 de marzo, servicios mínimos por huelga del personal de la Embajada 🇪🇸 en RU, y de los Consulados en Londres, Manchester y Edimburgo.https://t.co/5d7SAq8YYv
— Embassy of Spain UK (@EmbSpainUK) March 10, 2022