No Agreement. Unions and employers walked out of negotiations yesterday on the salaries of hospitality staff in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife without any change in the situation. Worker representatives are unwilling to withdraw the lawsuit filed some time ago over the seniority supplement and employer representatives will not implement the proposed salary increase by Ashotel if the lawsuit persists. Therefore, unless an unlikely last-minute agreement is reached, the trial will begin today at 11:30 in the morning to resolve the dispute over the seniority bonus.
The Hotel and Extra-Hotel Association of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro (Ashotel) announced on Thursday their intention to increase the salaries of workers under the provincial hospitality agreement by 9% over the next two years (2024-2025). According to the collective agreement, the salary increase for that period would be 4.5%, meaning that the employer’s offer would double the stipulated increment. However, Ashotel’s proposal is subject to two of the three unions represented at the negotiating table – Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the General Union of Workers (UGT) – withdrawing the lawsuit against the employers for alleged non-compliance regarding the seniority supplement. This is the reason behind the trial starting today in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The panel that negotiated the hospitality sector agreement in the province of Tenerife includes Ashotel, as the main employer representative; the Business Association of Restoration and Leisure (AERO); and the unions UGT, with two members, CCOO, with three, and Base Unionists (SB), with the remaining ten members allotted to worker representatives. The fragmentation of the union side originated from the split that occurred in CCOO at some point, a division that led to the creation of SB.
According to the unions, giving up the lawsuit implies more than the offered increase
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In fact, it was the critical sector of Comisiones Obreras, led by Manuel Fitas, that, after the split, established Base Unionists, which immediately became the majority union in the sector. The fact is that SB did not support the lawsuit of the two minority unions – paradoxically, the two largest union centrals in the country – on the issue of the seniority supplement, thereby remaining somewhat on the sidelines of this controversy.
The lawsuit by CCOO and UGT could cost the hospitality sector millions and is related to the revaluation of the seniority supplement from 1995 onwards. Apparently, this supplement has been increasing, in line with salary raises, but only for staff already receiving it on their payslips before that year. The two unions argue that the supplement should be paid in the same terms and conditions to all workers, an argument that they claim is supported by the Supreme Court, which made it clear that it is a “dynamic” supplement. This is what underpins Ashotel’s proposal, whose president, Jorge Marichal, explained on Thursday that, in the pursuit of “social peace,” employers are willing to double the salary increase stipulated in the 2024-2025 agreement.
In return, the employer asks Comisiones and UGT to not pursue the lawsuit. However, the two major unions in the country believe that dropping the lawsuit, which would lead to the cancellation of the trial starting today and relinquishing any new legal actions on the matter of the seniority supplement, requires much more than just that extra 4.5% salary increase that Ashotel publicly offered on Thursday. How much more do the two unions demand? The percentage on the table is 14%. That is the increase that the two major unions propose to withdraw the lawsuit, something that has never been a goal in itself.
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CCOO and UGT’s aim has always been to improve an agreement that is fundamentally below, and even well below, that of the province of Las Palmas. Workers in the eastern islands’ sector generally earn between 15 and 20% more than their counterparts in Santa Cruz de Tenerife province. For instance, for housekeeping staff, this amounts to around a hundred Euros more per month in hotels in the Las Palmas region.
9% Employers
- In exchange for CCOO and UGT withdrawing the lawsuit for the seniority supplement, Ashotel proposes a salary increase for 2024-2025 of 9%, double the amount stipulated in the agreement.
14% Unions
- The two major unions in the country believe that giving up the lawsuit requires improvements in the wage framework of the hospitality sector that go far beyond just the 4.5% ‘extra’.
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