The Association of the Major Hotel Chains in the nation united yesterday with the hotel and extra-hotel association of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro (Ashotel) to discuss issues of national and even international significance.
They highlighted that situations may differ significantly from those encountered by smaller establishments, particularly regarding employment matters that require tailored solutions. It has been mentioned that the major hotel chains are not particularly pleased with the salary disparities present in their hotels compared to those of smaller establishments, attributed to salary agreements included in the hospitality contract for the province of Tenerife. This has led to them paying substantially higher wages than those in the province of Las Palmas. Consequently, these companies are weary of having to adopt different pay structures across various Canary Islands provinces. They noted that large corporations may have an interest in pursuing a Regional Hospitality Agreement, which has currently been set aside.
Nonetheless, the declaration – signed by the president of the Association and Director for Corporate Affairs of Barceló in the Canary Islands, Pilar Parejo – reiterates the commitment of major hotel chains to rely on Ashotel to represent them at the collective agreement negotiating table. A negotiation that the Patronal Tenerife intends to initiate with the unions, even though the existing agreement remains in force until mid-2026, in order to address their demands against the planned strike on Thursday and Good Friday. A meeting has been organised for Monday, April 7, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The unions, however, have already expressed their opposition to this approach, insisting that they first require a commitment to implement an extraordinary salary increase for this year, aiming to allocate a portion of the record earnings achieved in the last two years to the workers. Once this agreement is secured, they claim they would have no objections to discussing the remaining employment framework. With only two weeks remaining until the strike call, they believe there isn’t ample time to negotiate all issues thoroughly, emphasising that the salary increase is a vital condition to avert the work stoppages.
Meanwhile, negotiations continue in the province of Las Palmas, where a fresh meeting occurred yesterday, with both employers and unions remaining steadfast in their positions. The unions reported no advancements and have scheduled further meetings for the upcoming week.
