Las patronales del turismo en Las Palmas solicitan apertura de negociaciones
The Federation of Entrepreneurs of Hospitality and Tourism of Las Palmas (FEHT) along with the Association of Tourist Entrepreneurs of Fuerteventura (Asofuer), the Tourist Federation of Lanzarote (FTL), and the Insular Association of Hotels and Apartments of Lanzarote (Asolan) have formally urged the union organizations represented in the negotiating committee to open collective bargaining in the sector.
To this end, the tourism employers have filed this request at the headquarters of the General Labor Directorate of the Government of the Canary Islands, as the competent administration in the procedure of this negotiation, as reported by the tourism employers in the province of Las Palmas in a joint statement.
They express their «full willingness to open» negotiations with the unions, with the main goal being the signing of a new collective agreement that «guarantees stability» in employment, job security, maintenance of purchasing power, and the viability of companies.
They consider that this process should always take place within the scope and autonomy of collective bargaining, allowing both sides to bring their demands to the negotiating table, as has been the case «for over 30 years, which has ensured social peace in the main economic sector of the Canary Islands.»
The tourism employers also want to emphasize that they have always attended all meetings they have been invited to in good faith, even proposing the opening of the negotiating table, while the unions have, so far, issued strike notices that the employers, while respecting this constitutional right, consider disproportionate and certainly not conducive to the recommended negotiation climate in the process of renewing the collective agreement in the province of Las Palmas, where salaries are «among the best» in the tourism sector in Spain.
The tourism employers have made this appeal in response to the need to redirect the requests and demands expressed by union representatives, which they believe should occur in the appropriate framework for this, which is collective bargaining.
They also thank the mediation carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands, through its councilor, Jessica de León, and the Director General of Labor, José Ramón Rodríguez, but they understand that it is within the realm of collective bargaining where any request «can be addressed and discussed to reach an agreement that makes it compatible» with the common goals of improving labor conditions for workers, as well as providing «certainty» for companies in a «highly complex» global economic context.
In the context of this process, the employers believe that the foundations of a «clear and stable» agreement between employers and unions are in place, focusing on «guaranteeing stability and quality» of employment in tourism, as well as the solvency of companies and improvements in working conditions, in addition to salaries to maintain the purchasing power of workers.
The employers assert that they are «as interested» as the unions in achieving these common goals, as they have already demonstrated with the current agreement in force.
The employers defend that the province of Las Palmas has «one of the best collective agreements» in the tourism sector in Spain, with «employment stability» and salaries «above average.»
They add that, in response to criticism of tourism salaries in the islands from within and outside the sector, the FEHT, Asofuer, and FTL employers have compiled the agreed increases from 2004 to 2024. In these twenty years, the agreed and fulfilled salaries under the agreement have increased by 50.63 percent in the province of Las Palmas, while the provincial CPI during the same period increased by 42.20 percent.
These data, consistently over time, «demonstrate an increase» in salaries above inflation, while also pointing out «other additional elements that recommend caution.»
In particular, they note that the «uncertainty» about the global economic scenario is compounded by decisions such as the «imminent reduction» of the workweek proposed by the central government, which will result in «increased costs that companies will have to bear,» along with the rise in labor costs due to absenteeism, currently at «maximum levels.»
These circumstances, they point out, are objective and recommend approaching this negotiation process with «realistic parameters and a willingness to reach agreement,» which the sector employers have demonstrated in all meetings held.
FUENTE
