The Arona Government (PP, CC and Vox) has presented its account regarding the penalty from the Labour Inspection, imposed by the Ministry of Tourism and Employment after discovering that the schedules of participants in a training and employment scheme were not being logged. This inquiry stemmed from a serious incident involving a participant in the agreement, and the local administration claims to have provided all requested documentation to the regional authorities, although it was noted that “the working hours were not appropriately recorded,” and that “the area manager is currently preparing the schedule properly, confirmed by the human resources team.”
Although the fine is relatively low (751 euros), the opposition party PSOE cautioned last week to Canary Islands Now that this matter could extend to other individuals involved in this employment initiative, attributing the incident to the “disarray” within local management during this term. The penalty has been received by the Human Resources Service, with a registration date of August 1, 2024. The Labour Inspection conducted the necessary investigations starting from February 8 of the previous year regarding a work accident involving an employee who was acting as a cleaning operative for the council, contracted through the programme aimed at enhancing training and employment in Arona for 2023-24, following a resolution for their inclusion from November 17, 2023.
This accident occurred in January 2024, and the inspection revealed that the working hours for staff in this training and employment initiative were not being correctly adhered to, only presenting a participation control document from that month, “which the company filled out using various terminologies.” After further investigations, it was concluded that there were breaches of labour regulations, leading to the imposition of the penalty, against which the council did not lodge an appeal.
Furthermore, the local authority has also responded to criticisms from the socialists regarding the extension of medical insurance with the DKV company despite the objections raised by the hiring section’s technicians (with two reports against it) and the financial intervention repair, which concluded that no further extension of this contract should occur. The mayor raised this concern, and the Local Government Board agreed to “explicitly extend the service contract” on February 4. This contract, known as the “Collective Health Assistance Insurance Policy for staff at the service of Arona City Council and its autonomous bodies,” has been extended for €35,000 (including IGIC) and is effective from March 1 to August 31 of this year at the maximum for this year, although the government clarified that a new contract may be put in place beforehand.
The service encompasses the prevention of occupational hazards in the areas of industrial hygiene, workplace safety, ergonomics, psychosociology, and health monitoring for council staff and its autonomous agencies. In fact, the documentation concerning the case notes that it has been valid for nine months since November 23, 2024, and that this agreement must be communicated to the health company Quirón Prevention, although the government has not addressed the risks associated with the extension in light of the opposing reports and the financial intervention repair.
