The award keeps the pallet jack operator in the laborers' group

The Labor Arbitration Board of Castilla-La Mancha in Guadalajara has issued an award that sets the valuation of the Pallet Jack Operator position at the Bormioli Rocco, S.A. plant in Azuqueca de Henares at 112 points, which keeps it classified within professional group I (Laborer). The resolution, dated July 30, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Guadalajara number 165, dated August 28, 2026, following the agreement of the provincial delegate, Susana Blas Esteban, to register and disseminate it.

The award, processed under case number JAL GU/A CC 1/26, resolves the discrepancy between the company management and the works council regarding the position’s valuation, which affects 10 workers. The controversy dates back to 2018, when the social representation demanded the recognition of the position, and it was submitted to arbitration on June 10, 2026, by mutual agreement between both parties.

The parties and the object of the arbitration

The procedure was initiated at the request of Ms. Yolanda Yuste Martín, Human Resources Director of BORMIOLI LUIGI, S.A.U., and Mr. David Sánchez Condado, president of the center’s Works Council, located at Avenida del Vidrio, s/n, Azuqueca de Henares. Mr. Juan Armando Monge Gómez and Mr. José Luis Cuevas Paños acted as arbitrators, appointed in accordance with the III ASAC-CLM.

The issue to be resolved was whether the position, assigned to the laborer group according to the company, should be reclassified to the technician group as sought by the legal representation of the workers. The valuation method applied is the one contained in Annex XIV of the company’s collective agreement, published in the BOP of Guadalajara on August 14, 2025.

The factors in dispute

The parties agreed on four of the six factors of the valuation method:

• Training: grade 1 (4 points)
• Learning: grade 1 (3 points)
• Autonomy: grade 1 (2 points)
• Direction: grade 0 (0 points)

The discrepancy focused on factor 3 (Nature of functions), where the company proposed grade 1 and the council proposed grade 2, and on factor 6 (Relations or Responsibility for Contacts), where the company defended the minimum grade OR and the council defended grade 1. The arbitration body considered that the functions of the position are operational, repetitive, and standardized, and that the intervention on the ABB palletizing robot and the Genesis wrapping machine is fully protocolized, without technical content that would justify a higher group.

The final score and its effects

The final score per factor was 12 points, to which the 100 points provided for by the method are added, resulting in a total of 112 points. According to the valuation intervals, up to 118 points corresponds to group I (Laborer), while group II (Technician) is situated between 118.5 and 139.5 points.

The award is binding and immediately enforceable, with the same effects as a final judgment pursuant to Article 68 of the Law Regulating Social Jurisdiction, and excludes any other procedure, collective conflict claim, or strike on the matter. It may only be appealed under the terms of Articles 65.4 and 163.1 of said law, with a statute of limitations of thirty business days from its notification.

The resolution closes a long-standing conflict in one of the main industrial plants in the Henares region, establishing a criterion for the valuation of positions with automated machinery that may serve as a reference for future disputes regarding the plant’s salary structure.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Guadalajara, No. 165, August 28, 2026, Autonomous Community Administration section (official reference: file JAL GU/A CC 1/26).