Staff of Barça TV station threaten to sue club
Workers will bring FC Barcelona and Telefónica to court if deal over closure of channel not reached
The staff of Barça TV, the television station of FC Barcelona, will sue the club and telecommunications company Telefónica if the negotiations for the closure of the channel end without an agreement.
The club announced weeks ago that the station would end transmissions on June 30th, and one day before the end of the official period to negotiate, the workers have threatened to bring the blaugrana club to court for a lack of a deal to terminate their employment status.
The workers say the club has not been involved in the negotiation process and say they will ask in court to be readmitted to their posts.
"It is clear," assured the lawyer of the Ronda Collective, Natxo Parra, that "there is an illegal transfer of labor."
The closing of the channel will leave nearly 100 people out of work, some of whom have been linked to the club for twenty years.
Parra said that Telefónica "does not assume any business risk" in the subcontracting of workers, since the facilities belong to Barça it is the club that organizes the day-to-day work and also who is in charge of salary increases.
"Telefónica constitutes a mere screen to hide the fact that the club holds the real status of employer. The staff have never worked for any other contact or service of Telefónica, the orders they receive are issued by the club," Parra insisted.
The workers are asking to be able to continue working on audiovisual services which they believe will continue even if the television channel closes.
According to the lawyer, the annual cost of the staff is €3.6 million, an "absolutely tiny expense" for Barça, which had a revenue of €1.017 billion in the 2021-2022 season.
The 94 staff members affected by the closure of the channel lamented the fact that Barça has not been involved in the negotiation of dismissals despite repeated requests from the staff. "If Barça is more than a club, it should also be because of these issues," Parra said.
After the closure of Barça TV, the club's audiovisual services will be down to a reduced team of thirteen people from Barça Productions. "It is impossible to think that communication and streaming can be sustained with thirteen people," Parra said.