European workers demonstrate on Black Friday

The first major protest action by Inditex workers at European level will take place next Friday. This is a particularly important day in the Spanish fashion group’s calendar as it coincides with Black Friday. The unions organized in Inditex’s European Works Council (EEC) have called for 13 rallies. These actions are coordinated and held in as many major European cities.

The origins of this first major European protest by the employees of the Spanish fashion company lie in demands that have existed for years. Since the Inditex EWC was founded in 2018, these have been brought to the management. The aim is to reach an agreement on a mechanism that guarantees the workforce an “extraordinary share in the economic profits” of the fashion group. This request was communicated to management several times and in various ways. However, the unions say that, unlike other issues, they have not received any willingness to talk or any kind of commitment or concession from the company.

Given the lack of response and silence to letters and requests for meetings, the Inditex EWC unions have decided to call these mobilizations for November 28th. The protests are supported by the various trade union organizations that belong to the Inditex EWC. These include Ver.di in Germany, Filcams-CGIL, UILTuCS-UIL and Fisascat-CISL Italy, CNE-CSC in Belgium, Cesp-CGTP in Portugal, OGBL in Luxembourg, CFTC in France and the Spanish associations UGT and CCOO. The latter tried to give the call more emphasis. The UGT criticized the fact that the work of the workforce was only recognized with a “thank you” while management made millions in profits. The CCOO emphasized that this is a demand that all unions represented in the Inditex EWC have been making vigorously for years.

“Around 27 managers received an average of five million euros per person last year,” according to a statement from the UGT. This is the result of a remuneration policy that includes an “incentive plan for the years 2025 to 2029, which allows 750 executives to distribute 4.5 million free shares as well as cash bonuses linked to the stock market and profits among themselves.” This wouldn’t be a problem, according to the union, if it weren’t for the fact that “almost none of this ends up on the payroll in Inditex’s branches and logistics”. The UGT hopes that Inditex will continue to make profits but share this wealth with those who generate it. “For years we have forgone family time and sacrificed health and relaxation. Yet all we receive are crumbs in the form of small, selective bonuses that are a far cry from the wealth we helped create.” They demand “real profit sharing for the entire Inditex workforce in Europe”.

“For years, the same concerns and demands have been raised again and again at the various meetings of the European Works Council (EEC) of Inditex by all the trade unions of the European countries involved,” adds the CCOO. “This includes the desire for recognition of the workforce’s performance that goes beyond mere words of thanks.” The group’s employees considered a form of extraordinary participation in Inditex’s economic profits necessary. This is a gesture of recognition for the shared responsibility at work and the achievement of company goals year after year. “The very good economic results of the Inditex Group are not just the result of good corporate management,” they emphasize. As the company itself often mentions, they are “thanks to the dedication and commitment of all Inditex Group employees”.

13 rallies in seven countries

In response to this situation and in order to close an “open construction site” in the collective bargaining, the Inditex EWC has decided to call a total of 13 rallies. These take place simultaneously in 13 European cities. All promotions are scheduled for this Friday, November 28, 2025, Black Friday. They start at 12 p.m., in Portugal at 11 a.m., to coincide exactly with the other protests in a total of seven European countries. In Spain, the protests are taking place in front of the Zara store on Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona and in front of the Stradivarius “flagship store” on Gran Vía in Madrid.

“After exhausting other avenues,” emphasizes the CCOO, “the unions organized in the Inditex EWC have decided to gather on November 28th in their respective countries to make this demand of the workforce visible.” The aim of the actions in the respective countries is to “demand a formula for an extraordinary share in the economic profits of the Inditex Group”.