The Independent Brotherhood of Telephone Employees (HIETEL) warned Tuesday, October 27, 2026, that Claro PR is pushing them toward a strike that could affect a company handling 80% of communications in Puerto Rico, including those of the government. The warning comes after ten months without a new collective agreement. HIETEL’s secretary of training, Telizia Dolz Benítez, said that when workers who keep the network running are not valued, experienced staff leave and the whole country is put at risk.
when workers who keep the network running are not valued, experienced staff leave and the whole country is put at risk
Union attorney Leonardo Delgado Navarro said Claro has not warned the country that it holds 80% of communications, serving the Police, the Emergency Management Bureau, La Fortaleza, the Capitol, most government agencies, the federal courts, the federal prison, 21 towns and the Municipal Consortium of the Southeast. The union represents 646 workers and is seeking a contract worth $345,300 a year, about $535 per employee annually, or roughly $10.30 weekly.
Claro offered a $6 weekly raise. The company, with shareholder-reported sales of $145 million, would spend 0.24% of sales on the contract, according to Delgado Navarro. The union asked the Department of Labor and Human Resources (DTRH) for a mediator and awaits a response from Secretary María del Pilar Vélez Casanova.
Union leaders also denounced a planned $2 monthly per-line rate increase that could bring Claro nearly $100 million more a year. Claro representatives told NotiCel they would not comment for now.