The school cafeterias of public educational centers are to the limit of its operation before the lack of staff. At least this is the complaint made by the Canarian Organization of Public Service Employees (Ocesp)a union that represents the workforce of educationwithin which are the so-called auxiliary complementary services.
It is the former canteen caretakers who consider that there is a “systematic non-compliance” with the ratios established by the Department of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands. In his opinion, if the situation of the Early Childhood and Primary Education Centers (CEIP) of Tenerife is “chaotic”, in the Southern region a reality close to collapse is being reached.
Three municipalities and four centers
They also point out three municipalities and four centers: Arona, Granadilla de Abona and Adeje. Within the first, they refer to the CEIP El Fraile, in this same town; in the second, to the CEIP of Granadilla and Juan García Pérez, in San Isidro. In the third, in the center of Los Olivos.
“They are very large centers, made up of a student body of 900 people, with more than 300 diners and two dining shifts. The workers have to prepare everything, collect and reassemble, in addition to taking care of the children in the yard. It would not be possible if the management and teaching staff themselves were not involved to help the security guards,” explain Ocesp sources, who emphasize this “systematic non-compliance” with the ratios.
According to them, there should be one caregiver for every 25 Kindergarten students. That is, between three and five years. And one for every 35 in Primary, aged between six and eleven years old. “However, this is not fulfilled. The staff is overloaded. Where there should be eleven guards, for example, we find ourselves with only 8 or 9, despite the fact that, in addition, in the playground, there is only one person to take care of sixty students under five years old.
If this situation continues, many directors will choose to privatize or outsource the service, which means going from quality food to industrial type food,” the same union sources point out.
200 uncovered casualties throughout the Canary Islands
As an example of the crisis situation, they refer to what happened at the CEIP of Las Mercedes, in La Laguna, at the beginning of the course, where the management team suspended the service due to the fact that the Ministry of Education had not covered the absences of staff.
On previous occasions, this was precisely the reason given for opting for outsourcing in several centers. The unions report high numbers of uncovered casualties in Administration and Services personnel, which would be overloading those who remain in their positions, contributing to their exposure to new casualties. Specifically, they aim for a total of 200, which would make it impossible to meet the Education ratios.
“This is a fundamental service, more important than many believe. It is essential to educate our children in healthy eating habits and hence maintaining the public service of the canteens is key,” they emphasize from Ocesp, a union that is convinced that “there is passivity in the Ministry when it comes to replacing the sick. or vacations, in addition to implementing a digitalized system that is not easy to understand for older workers who are not used to it. At this time, the security guards cannot even take days off from their own business.”
