Canary Islands Home Help Agreement Faces Union Challenge Over "Inhumane Conditions"

The Intersindical Canaria (IC) union, along with support from USO and CC OO, has filed a complaint about the current agreement for Home Help Services provided by the Canary Islands Government. This agreement sets out the working conditions and pay for those employed by companies contracted by local councils to deliver these services.

The union has also extended this complaint to the employers' association and relevant business groups in both La Laguna and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where around 300 people are employed in this sector.

Cristina González, spokesperson for IC, told DIARIO DE AVISOS that the complaint, officially submitted on Monday, aims to "finally start the necessary discussions to create and approve a new agreement. This new agreement should reflect the reality for workers and ensure fairer treatment, as the current situation is incredibly insecure."

González emphasized that "Although Intersindical filed the complaint, all three unions agree that negotiations must begin to define new working conditions for employees. We also need to speed up the implementation of the new agreement, which must be in place by 2026. Any further delays will leave Home Care employees stuck in the inhumane conditions we currently face for another year."

The IC spokesperson also mentioned "significant dissatisfaction with UGT, the majority union in the SAD works council. We feel they aren't doing enough to schedule negotiations or address the chaos caused by the current agreement, which has created a terrible working environment."

González also stated that a recent meeting between the works council and SAD workers in the capital included a discussion about potential strikes and protests. However, these plans have been put on hold because the USO union has taken Atende, the company providing the service, to court. "We're waiting for the agreement to change to see if we can finally resolve issues like defining general cleaning duties, increasing salaries, and ensuring compliance with the protocol for handling cases of sexual harassment of workers by service users," she explained.

The USO complaint focuses on the cleaning of homes, many of which are not hygienic and infested with cockroaches, bedbugs, or rats. The committee insists that "the poor service provided by the company is abandoning both workers and users by failing to comply with the collective agreement."