The 9% salary increase announced by the Hotel and Extrahotel Association of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro (Ashotel) aims to ensure “social peace” after the events of April 20, but will only be implemented if the unions withdraw a complaint that has been on the table for over a year regarding irregularities in the collective agreement. There are only three days left – next July 9 – for the hotel employer to face the start of the trial for this lawsuit brought forth by UGT and CCOO, which if ruled in favour of the unions, could entail an “astronomical” expense for the hospitality establishments in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
This Friday, the president of the employers’ association, Jorge Marichal, promised at a press conference to “double” the planned wage increase for this and next year (2024-2025) in the sector’s agreement – set at 4.5% – to reach a “more than considerable” 9% increase.
Ashotel’s president linked this commitment to the massive protests against the tourism model on April 20, stating that this is a way to calm the waters. “We are not deaf or indifferent to April 20, and that is why we are here today making this proposal, which joins other initiatives already in progress,” highlighted Marichal.
What he did not explain or even mention is that the entire Hospitality sector in the province has been facing a complaint against the collective agreement for over a year filed by CCOO and UGT, which could cost the sector millions for having “discriminated” against a portion of its employees since 1995.
