The historical demand of artists and musicians who work in the hotel and tourism sector of Canary Islands finally foresees its first steps after several years of stagnation. The unions of UGT and CCOO Canarias indicate that the next meeting on January 19 will be held together with the Association of Artistic Representatives of Tenerife (ART), which works as an employer and has the support of the Provincial Confederation of Entrepreneurs (CEOE) of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Ashotel hotel employer. A step for the drafting of the agreement that will collect the rights and duties of more than 3,000 professionals dedicated to offering shows for visitors to the Archipelago.
The economic engine of the Islands left behind the consequences of the pandemic with 6% less than in 2019, which translated into about 14 million tourists in 2022 and more than 17,000 million euros billed, advanced this newspaper in the meeting The tourism we want organized by Press Ibérica with companies in the field at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the b-side of the shows that amuse and entertain foreigners persists in precarious conditions for many of the professionals who demand hiring and compensation commensurate with their work.
With the just begun 2023, seven years have passed since the journey began to form the Collective agreement regulating labor relations between artists, musicians and companies in the tourism and hospitality sector of the Canary Islands, title under which your draft reads. This responds to the first State Agreement of the Personnel of Ballrooms and Discotheques that was signed on May 18, 2012, but the unions understand that the Autonomous Community has a series of characteristics that make the regional agreement convenient, such as the tourist season is not stationary and prevails the 12 months of the year.
Vicente García Brito, head of Culture at FeSMC-UGT Canarias, speaks from experience. In 2003 he was a member of the duo Green River, in which he concatenated a total of 19 six-month temporary contracts during the time the musicians worked for the company Romantic Espectacles SL. Without vacations or days off, the magistrate of the Labor Court number 3 of the palms from Gran Canaria He acknowledged that they intended to cover up this irregularity “for life” in which the actions in hotels and premises designated by the company were masked. After nine years, the sentence granted them their vacations, as stated canaries 7. However, despite the advances, the reality remains the same.
“Everywhere there is a musician providing entertainment to the avalanche of tourists who come after the pandemic, when all the hidden vices that were in plain sight with people without protection or help from the State emerged because they had no employment relationship that gave them the right to nothing”, explains García Brito. “You cannot allow the Canary Islands to promote themselves in Europe and then see the very poor situation that exists. In addition, when there is a framework agreement, it would result in the protection of all workers and the elimination of unfair competition.“, Add.
inequality for women
The dynamics usually occurs as follows: the hotel hires a service company that, in turn, offers a portfolio of artists who practice through cooperatives. Therefore, they cannot take advantage of contracts that allow them to contribute to Social Security on a regular basis -causing the affected person to register as a false self-employed person-, nor take advantage of unemployment, medical leave or paid vacations, state subsidies or Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE) that sustained so many families around the two years that the health alert was active and left the tourist offer petrified.
A fact that also affects gender inequality. Sali, a singer who prefers to remain anonymous, emphasizes that most of her colleagues cannot afford “the luxury of motherhood.” Before the public eye, “you cannot afford a pregnancy with which you are not aesthetically fit to perform on stage“. The disfigurement of the female figure by the belly, the subsequent breastfeeding or recovery supposes a year of losses, as well as old age that, instead of demonstrating experience as in the case of men, adds the wrinkles due to age that many despise, “even if your vocal resources are better and your experience to dominate the stage is richer, you are worth less and less“.
In her case, she was fired when she was pregnant and spent three years on the street without receiving unemployment benefits. After her, she would get a sentence to make her a permanent staff, but it is lucky that many of her do not have. In parallel, the harassment suffered by women in the sector makes the experience increasingly harsh, to which must be added the investment they make in technical equipment, clothing and training, without the support of the contracting companies, with charges that oscillate between 35 and 48 euros per day where whoever charges cheaper has more opportunities to go on stage. “We are what the tourist sees and we need to dignify the profession,” she says with all the love she dedicates to it day after day.
For his part, José Pazo, head of Media, Art, Culture, Sports and Leisure of the Federation of Services to the Citizenship of CCOO Canarias, indicates that “We contemplate that the contracts are totally legal, without the added clauses of many of them, that there is a minimum monthly remuneration, that they be given in the Social Security and false self-employed contracts are eliminated, eight-hour days are contemplated or, where appropriate, that a performance be given as a full day, and that cooperatives be eliminated as far as possible“.
fraudulent dynamics
After the confinement and total paralysis of the sector as a result of Covid-19, the Canary Socialist Group, at the request of the deputy María del Pino González Vega, presented a Non-Legal Proposal on November 13, 2020 on improving the conditions of musicians and artists in the service sector. The suggestion to his own regional government remained in the air until the first meetings with the General Directorate of Labor took place and, in January 2022the Vice Ministry of Culture and Cultural Heritage showed its support by covering the costs legal aspects of the drafting of the project. At that time, the hotel management associations of both provinces did not designate any interlocutor until the Art association was established.
Juan Correa, president of Artstates that they were born with a regional will and remain “open” to the inclusion of the neighboring province, since “the purpose of all parties is the same: that the rights of artistic workers are defined and there is an order“. In addition, It foresees that in six months this negotiation will be finalized, which, despite the calls, lacks support in the province of Las Palmas. “At the moment, they do not want to intervene because they consider that they are fine, although all of us are working for the Community of the Canary Islands. Logically, with the signature of our province, employers, unions and CEOE, in the end, they will have to sign up“, indicates.
About, José María Mañaricúa, president of the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs of Las Palmas, indicates that these actions are not the responsibility of the sector it represents and this is how they transmitted it at the meeting to which the CCOO and UGT summoned them for the first and only time.
