Barcelona lifeguards demonstrate in city centre to coincide with first day of indefinite strike

"Please note that the beach first aid and accident prevention service is closing. We recommend that you take special care while bathing or swimming. In the event of an emergency, ring 112."

This is the English-language warning to bathers on Barcelona's beaches when lifeguards finish their shift every day, but the message was also sounded out in Barcelona's Plaça Sant Jaume square, in front of the city council building, as lifeguards, fed up with a lack of improvements in working conditions and failure to honour past agreements, began their indefinite strike on Friday. 

Around 50 lifeguards who work on Barcelona's beaches demonstrated in the city centre on Friday morning to coincide with the beginning of the strike. 

On the city's beaches, many lifeguard huts were closed, with the regular 'Out of service' signs in position, surrounded by various protest signs made by the lifeguards, featuring messages such as 'We fight for our rights', 'Barcelona is drowning', 'Barcelona suffocates', and 'We fight for you, help us'. 

The city council says that at least one hut per beach will remain open. On Sant Sebastià beach on Friday morning, even the huts that were open and operational also had protest signs on them. 

Throughout the coastline, the yellow flag was raised, indicating that the lifeguards' strike was taking place and that extra precaution should be exercised by swimmers and bathers. 

The strike action was called by the CGT union, and the beach workers are demanding a collective labour agreement (known in Catalan as a 'conveni'), a reduction in job instability, and implementation of measures that were previously agreed.

They want more staff to be added, and for the bathing season, when lifeguard services are active, to be extended, which would in turn offer them more professional stability. They also believe that with the salaries they receive, and taking into account the cost of living in Barcelona, their seasonal job is "unsustainable."

'Lifeguards are drowning' was one of the motifs of the protest signs held up on Friday morning, while Ignacio García Díaz, a representative for the group, told reporters that they are ready to hold out their indefinite strike for as long as it takes. 

During the rally, they outlined their proposal to extend the high season from May 1 to September 30, a plan that was rejected, according to them, due to a lack of budget. Currently, the high season for beaches runs from May 24 to September 11.

The demonstrating workers also urged the public to take particular caution today while bathing on the shores, as the lifeguards cannot guarantee services. Information will be shared and distributed on Barcelona's beaches today outlining the situation and demands of the lifeguards. 

They say that their working conditions have worsened since 2023, despite two strikes and multiple rounds of negotiations with the city council.

Around 50 lifeguards gathered to protest on Friday morning, but it could have easily been a lot more. Minimum services have been set at 50%, meaning most lifeguards must still work during the strike. In a statement, trade union CGT said the workforce felt even more motivated to take action after the council set such high minimum services.

(A previous version of this article erroniously stated that minimum services were set at 80%.)