User:Tygerpencil/2010 Spanish air traffic controllers strike

The 2010 Spanish air traffic controllers strike began on December 3, 2010 when most air traffic controllers in Spanish airports walked out in a coordinated wildcat strike. Following the walkout, the Spanish Government authorized the Spanish military to take over air traffic control operations in a total of eight airports, including the country's two main airports, Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat. On the morning of December 4, the government declared a state of emergency, calling on the controllers to get back to their posts. Shortly after the measure was implemented, controllers started returning to work and the strike was called off.

The unauthorized move by controllers came after a year of dispute with the government and the Spanish airport authority Aena over working conditions, work schedules and benefits. Earning an average yearly salary of 350,000 euros, the government slashed the controller's allowed overtime hours, cutting their pay nearly in half. On the same day as the strike, the Council of Ministers approved plans to partially privatise Aena.

It was the first time since the restoration of democracy in 1975 that a state of emergency was declared. Under the measure, controllers were mobilised and faced a crime of disobedience stipulated in the Spanish military penal code in case of not showing up at work. Some controllers reported to have been forced to work at gunpoint.