«They will not make the sector’s staff win, but the companies,» warn from Comisiones Obreras Canarias, who distanced themselves from the negotiating table of the agreement
CCOO Canarias has regretted this Friday that, after a «historic» strike in the hospitality sector during Holy Week, the trade unions at the negotiating table have signed a final agreement with the employers «retracting rights and seeking very sensationalist wording,» which, in their opinion, «will not make the sector’s staff win, but the companies.»
In a statement, the trade union, which distanced itself from the negotiating table, expressed its «shame» after the press conference held by unions, employers, and the Government this Thursday at the Government Presidency, on the occasion of the final agreement between employers and unions for a collective agreement in the province of Tenerife.
The agreement includes a cumulative salary increase of 13.5% in the tourist sector over three years until 2028, with 7% already in the first year starting in July. In the hospitality sector, the salary increase will be 9%, that is, 3% per year.
«We have had to see with shame as Fernando Clavijo and Jéssica de León were accomplices and lackeys of Ashotel, who want to sign an agreement on the downside selling it as responsibility when they have been the province that has fractured the most,» argued the trade union in the press release.
The organization said they would have liked the Canarian Government to «pressure in the same way» in the western province the employers to sign «a regional agreement»: «Or does the Government believe that the staff in the province of Las Palmas deserve to earn more than those in Santa Cruz de Tenerife?»
In their opinion, the public stance of the Canarian Government shows that the Executive «dances to the tune of Marichal (in reference to the representative of the Ashotel employers’ association) and the employer’s interests.»
Thus, CCOO points out that the difference in salary increase between the proposal before the strike and the one now signed is, at best, 20 euros per month. In this way, they lament, those who decided to take to the streets during Holy Week «will not recover the discount they were given for those days.»
«And of course, part of the increase continues to be absorbed for those staff members who already have a salary agreement. In the end, between absorption and what has already been signed, the increase remains at an additional 3.75%,» they added.
AN «INSUFFICIENT» AGREEMENT
The trade union continues that the signing of this pre-agreement is «insufficient,» as it «regresses in rights» and does not meet the demands of the hospitality staff after what was «a historic strike.» «This sends a very dangerous message from the majority union, where the employers are very comfortable saying that strikes in the hospitality sector are useless and that the same people always win,» they express.
Thus, after reviewing the final agreement by CCOO, they consider that this «is absolutely worse» than the proposal they had before the strike. «Working people will have fewer rights as they will not have the temporary incapacity complement until a year after their incorporation. Regrettable,» they assure.
Among their criticisms of the new agreement, they warn how, after 16 years working in a company, seeking better conditions in another hotel will be «penalized» as, they explain, it is stated in this agreement that voluntary departures «will not be entitled» to the loyalty bonus. «It is unbearable to see how a reward that recognizes the worker for their years of service is sold and they are prevented from improving their work situation,» they add.
«And more unbearable is to see how the Government of the Canary Islands endorses this clause put on the table. Regrettable. They insert an article to talk about irregular working hours. This article will not only nullify a future reduction of hours but will be aimed at further precarizing a sector, generating unmanageable schedules and losing control of them. Regrettable,» they explain from the trade union.
In conclusion, CCOO criticizes the nature of an agreement, signed by Ashotel and AERO and by Sindicalistas de Base, UGT, Intersindical Canaria, and USO (with the absence of Comisiones Obreras), where «rights are lost, something worse is signed than what was before the strike, and where the same people always win.»
