CCOO, together with the Legal Representation of the Workers (RLPT), has submitted a report to the Waste Area of the Island Council denouncing a series of alleged contractual breaches by Urbaser S.A., the company contracted for the selective waste collection service on the island.
The union alerts about the shortage of material and human resources, the deficient maintenance of the fleet, the decrease in the number of containers, and problems in the disinfection and cleaning tasks at collection points. The contract in question (file 095/17) was awarded to Urbaser in May 2018 for an amount of 5.84 million euros excluding taxes and a term of eight years.
According to CCOO, based on the initial tender documents, the service should have included three side-loading trucks and four rear-loading trucks, in addition to auxiliary units. However, the union claims that currently only two side-loading and three rear-loading units are operational, while several damaged units remain without effective replacement.
Added to this is the situation with the vans—one of which is immobilized due to engine failure—and the uncertainty surrounding the contractual modification approved by the Council in June 2025, which included the incorporation of two new side-loading collection trucks, without their implementation being clearly documented.
Staff deficit after the latest modification
The union also focuses on human resources. They recall that the contractual modification approved in June 2025, with an allocation of almost 900,000 euros (894,447 euros), planned to add nine workers (three drivers and six laborers) to increase the workforce from 19 to 28 operators. In contrast, the current staff stands at 24 people, four below what was committed.
This lack of personnel, they emphasize, creates an overload for the staff and complicates the coverage of shifts, breaks, and vacations.
Regarding the number of containers on the island, CCOO estimates that the theoretical provision should be around 2,600 units, taking into account successive expansions. However, data collected by the workers indicate that there are fewer than 1,500 containers in use, leaving a deficit of over 1,100 units and causing overflowing garbage at various points along the recycling routes.
The union describes the hygienic state of the deposits as "of special seriousness". Although the contract stipulates eight washes per year for light packaging containers and four for paper-cardboard containers —in addition to periodic disinfection—, CCOO states that in practice the operators only carry out occasional interventions, superficially passing a water gun over the exterior.
Formal request for inspection and penalties
The complaint is framed within a scenario of open labor conflict between the staff and the contractor, with more than 20 months of collective bargaining without agreement and a strike called due to disagreements over holidays, night work, and risk prevention measures.
Therefore, CCOO has formally demanded that the island Corporation conduct an urgent technical inspection to audit the actual means of the service, require Urbaser to immediately rectify the deficiencies, and apply, where appropriate, the corresponding contractual penalties.
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