Nine days to appear in the lawsuit over shift work in Melilla

The Ministry of Presidency, Public Administration and Equality of the Autonomous City of Melilla has opened the summons to all interested parties in abbreviated procedure 90/2026, a contentious-administrative appeal promoted by Francisco Jiménez García under the heading “Full Recognition of Shift Work.” The announcement, registered under number 1217 of BOME No. 6428 dated November 3, 2026 (page 5376, reference BOME-A-2026-1217), grants nine days to appear as defendants before the Court of First Instance, Contentious-Administrative Section, Plaza No. 2 of Melilla.

The procedure is published “at the request” of the plaintiff and in compliance with Article 49 of the Law of Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction, a provision that requires the summons of all those who may have a legitimate interest in the litigation when the procedure affects an indeterminate plurality of people. The document was signed in Melilla on October 27, 2026, by the Technical Secretary of Public Administration, Francisco José Rubio Soler.

The origin: the regularization of the special workday

The lawsuit is part of the process of organizing the special workday modalities of the municipal staff. On July 9, 2026, the Governing Council approved, via Order No. 0656, the regularization of these modalities, published in BOME No. 6399 on July 24, 2026, following the negotiation held at the General Negotiation Table for Civil Service and Labor Personnel on May 6, 2026.

That agreement identified, by Ministry and General Directorate, the positions subject to a special workday, including shift work, night shifts, split shifts, Monday-to-Saturday or Monday-to-Sunday service, and on-call duties. The updated List of Job Positions, published in BOME No. 6410 on September 1, 2026, already expressly included several positions with that condition:

• Mechanical Driver Official -B- with Shift Work (4 positions).
• Library Assistant with Shift Work (13 positions from one call and 2 from another).
• Services Official with shift work -Sports- (2 and 6 positions in two calls).

The Governing Council had to rectify that agreement due to an omission: on September 18, 2026, it approved the correction (agreement 2026000795), published in BOME No. 6420 on October 6, 2026. The omission consisted of the fact that the published text did not incorporate the provision of the technical report according to which non-permanent labor staff who perform functions of a category similar to that of the public employees of their unit shall be governed by the same workday regime.

The remuneration claim, axis of the conflict

The rectification was based on a submission from the UGT Trade Union Section, which requested the express inclusion of non-permanent contractual staff—citing areas such as Festivities, the Bullring, and the General Warehouse—and the guarantee of payment for remuneration when services are provided in positions subject to shift work, night shifts, holidays, or special working hours.

The Governing Council accepted the correction of the working day but separated the two issues: it warned that the technical report’s provision “does not contain an autonomous pronouncement on the totality of the remunerative consequences.” This distinction between working hours and remuneration is precisely the ground upon which the judicial claim is based.

Deadlines and Appearance

Interested parties have a brief period with already fixed milestones:

• Nine days to appear as defendants before the judicial body.
• Hearing on December 2, 2026, at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 10 of the courts.
• Body: Court of First Instance, Contentious-Administrative Section, Plaza nº 2 of Melilla.
• Publication: BOME nº 6428, November 3, 2026, page 5376.

The appearance must be made “in defense of their interests,” according to the official text, which opens the door for other employees affected by the same working conditions to join the litigation. The same bulletin publishes a parallel summons, abbreviated procedure 116/2026, pursued at the request of Ramón Ruiz Torre for “Payment of Remuneration Concept,” confirming that judicial conflict over working hours and salary has multiplied within the local Administration.

The scope of the news is twofold: the ruling issued may extend the recognition of shift work—and eventually its economic compensation—to a broad collective of public employees of the Autonomous City, and the nine-day period runs from the date of publication, meaning that anyone who does not appear will be bound by the sentence without having defended their position.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Autonomous City of Melilla, nº 6428, November 3, 2026, section I, page 5376 (official reference: BOME-A-2026-1217).