Santa Cruz de Tenerife 13 Mar. (Europa Press) –
The hotel and non-hotel association of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro, Ashotel, has expressed its concerns this Thursday about a “particular tendency to stigmatise the sector” by claiming that “it is unwilling to negotiate and increase wages, assertions that lead to a continual conflict with a sector that has been the backbone of the Canarian economy for decades.”
The employers emphasised that the last two collective agreements signed in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (2018-2022 and 2022-2026) have raised wages in the hospitality sector (comprising bars, restaurants, and accommodation establishments) by a total of 20.5%. Thus, they assert that “it is entirely misleading to claim that salaries are not rising while maintaining open lines of communication” consistently.
It was the Canarian president, Fernando Clavijo, who remarked during the recent ‘debate on the state of nationality’, conducted this week in the Canary Islands Parliament, that salaries within the hospitality sector on the islands have increased above the average, as highlighted by the employer in a statement.
He also referenced a recent report from the CCOO technical office in the Canary Islands, which indicates that salary increases in the archipelago from 2019 to 2023 stand at 9.2%, whereas in the hospitality agreement for the province of Tenerife, this increase has been 10.25% (2018-2022).
As a demonstration of the goodwill of the hotel entrepreneurs represented by Ashotel, they accepted the Canarian government’s invitation, through its Minister of Tourism, Jéssica de León, to engage in a meeting with union representatives, at the latter’s request.
In this context, they believe that the government is fully aware that collective bargaining is a mechanism that operates between union and business representatives, thus “political interference, no matter how well-intentioned, cannot resolve or impose anything,” they state.
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In this vein, the employers clarify that in every negotiation, the various parties “both gain and concede, which is the essence of striving for the most beneficial agreement for all groups involved.”
The negotiating committee for the collective hospitality agreement in the province of Tenerife, which includes 10 representatives of grassroots trade unions, 3 from UGT, and 2 from CCOO, maintains ongoing dialogue and frequently exchanges proposals from both sides.
Consequently, the employers contend that in a negotiation, it is not only unions that make demands; “businesses also have matters to negotiate and raise, as they face numerous issues that have been repeatedly brought to light.”
Among these issues is the high level of absenteeism (with data from 2023 based on a study by a workplace accident mutual; the IT index in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was 10.08% compared to the national figure of 5.58%); the ongoing union dispute regarding seniority, which awaits a vote and ruling in the TSJC after a judgement unfavourable to union interests; and the impending adjustments that need to be addressed in light of the reform of working hours, which remains unresolved but could result in a 7% to 9% increase in personnel expenses.
Furthermore, Ashotel is perplexed as to why resources available through private mutuals are not being utilised to expedite assessments and diagnoses, enabling injured workers to return to health more promptly.
Additionally, they highlight that in the daily operations of the sector, which is not currently embroiled in any disputes due to the valid regulatory framework governing labour relations, various circumstances and complexities undermine the effective progression of tourism, and these matters fall outside the domain of the private sector.
Notably, there are significant deficiencies in Tenerife, particularly regarding essential infrastructures such as housing, transport, and mobility.
“It is in these areas that Public Administration must urgently step in, as it is at least a decade overdue,” they assert.
