PSOE Accuses Puerto de la Cruz Government of Illegal Public Employee Negotiation

The Puerto de la Cruz PSOE is publicly criticising the local right-wing government (PP-ACP-CC) for allegedly holding a negotiation meeting for public employees without following the law. The meeting took place on October 13th, and since then, neither the Works Council nor the Staff Board has been updated.

The PSOE, along with CCOO, CSIF, and Intersindical Canaria unions, claims that Article 36 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees (EBEP) has been broken. This law states that unions with over 10% of the vote in municipal elections should be represented. However, the government reportedly only included UGT and CCOO, leaving out Intersindical Canaria and CSIF. These excluded unions represent a significant portion of the workforce, with Intersindical Canaria representing two-thirds of workers and CSIF representing 20% of public officials. This means a large number of City Council employees, particularly those represented by the excluded unions, were not part of the negotiation.

"Even during the meeting, our councillor Jesús Reverón pointed out the rule and that this could make the decision completely invalid. He also presented a Supreme Court ruling that supports our argument for union representation as required by the EBEP. But the right-wing government ignored the legal advice," said socialist spokesperson Marco González. "They also brought up the composition from 2021, when we were in government, which had favourable reports allowing for increased representation to better reflect the current union landscape."

The two CCOO representatives reportedly agreed with the socialists, questioning the government's decision to exclude the representatives from Intersindical Canaria and CSIF, who are the two largest unions at the City Council. The statement added, "The legal teams of both unions are already reviewing this decision and considering legal action to stop this alleged breach of the law that protects the union rights of municipal workers. This could include a lawsuit for union protection."

The PSOE believes this situation once again highlights the local government's disregard for the law. "They continue to act unlawfully, ignoring established bodies like the Works Council and Staff Board, and limiting the participation of the various unions that should be involved in defending the rights of public employees in our City Council," stated González.