The convening unions – UGT, CCOO, ELA and BUB – have highlighted the absolute continuity of the call among workers. In addition to Tuesday, strikes have also been called on 11 and 15 April, and the unions have not ruled out an indefinite strike at a later date. The workers began with pickets at 5:00 a.m. and organized a mobilization in the afternoon that will start from the Basauri plant and end in the Arizgoiti square of the town.

The convening trade unions argue that they have resorted to the strike because they have "no opportunity to negotiate with the company": Bridgestone, a Japanese tyre multinational, aims to lay off a total of 546 workers from its plants in Basauri (Bizkaia) and Puente San Miguel (Cantabria). The regulatory report sent by the management to the workers’ committee last week would affect almost a third of the workers at the plant in Bizkaia – 335 out of 831 workers – and more than half in Cantabria – which has 418 workers and wants to lay off 211.

The unions and the company formed a committee on Monday to negotiate the terms of the regulatory dossier. At this table, the UGT and CCOO will have the largest number of seats –four each–, three will be represented by the BUB union delegation and one by the ELA and the SITB Bridgestone Independent Workers’ Union.

The company is accused of having a "shameful" attitude and "lack of transparency"

Last Friday, the strike committee of the company and Bridgestone met to negotiate the minimum services that must be offered on the days when the strike is called. At the end of the first meeting, the strike committee denounced the "shameful attitude" of the management in the negotiations and accused the company of "prioritizing production over the safety and health of the workers". Basauri City Council has expressed concern about the "economic and social impact" of the dismissals, and Mayor Asier Iragorri has announced that he will meet with the management of the company shortly.