Former CC Councilor Francisco Fabelo has also received "backdated" triennial bonuses as a worker on leave

The Finance Councilor of the Cabildo, Luis Arráez, has revealed this Thursday that Francisco Fabelo has also received "backdated" triennial bonuses for the period in which he was on leave as a worker of the Corporation and served as councilor of CC. Arráez himself gave Fabelo's name when justifying the payment of 25,000 euros that the government group has just authorized to his colleague and current parliamentarian and mayor of Haría, Marci Acuña.

"If we didn't pay the triennial bonuses to Marci Acuña, to don Francisco Fabelo, and to the rest of the Cabildo workers who have been recognized during those years for the triennial bonuses owed to them, we would be prevaricating," Luis Arráez defended. He even pointed out that he himself receives triennial bonuses as a public worker on leave, in addition to his salary as a released councilor of the Cabildo.

In the case of Acuña, Arráez explained that he requested to receive triennial bonuses "since he began to serve as councilor" of the Cabildo and suspended his position as a worker of the institution, more than a decade ago. "It is done in all administrations with workers who go on special services," he argued. Therefore, the head of Finance has defended that, "in any case, what has occurred" with his colleague "is an offense".

"He has been waiting for years"

"Marci, like other workers, has been waiting for years," Arráez insisted, noting that since "almost two years ago" the government group adopted an agreement to "regularize" the situation of those employees of the institution. "There is someone missing, but everyone will be paid," he stated, in response to the interpellation requested by the Somos Lanzarote group, asking for explanations about that payment authorized to Marci Acuña last December.

After listening to Arráez's explanations, the spokesperson for Somos, Tomás López, reproached the government group for not applying the same criteria to all the institution's workers, citing examples of employees who have had to go to court and who, even having obtained judgments in their favor, continue to have their demands unmet. "The difference is that those workers are not public officials and do not earn 60,000 euros from the Parliament of the Canary Islands every year," he questioned in reference to the salary that Acuña receives, who in addition to his salary also receives allowances from the Parliament and also from the Haría City Council.

For his part, Arráez has defended that there are reports in favor of that payment to Marci Acuña and has criticized that "an attempt is being made to engage in demagoguery and populism." He has also questioned that this issue is being used "politically to cause harm", by questioning that a member of CC who has been earning a salary and allowances from various institutions for more than a decade also claims triennial bonuses as an employee on leave from the Cabildo.

In addition, he has insisted that he himself receives "triennial bonuses from the Cabildo, in addition to receiving the remuneration as a councilor." "The triennial bonuses are due to me and they have to pay them to me because the right assists me," Arráez argued, explaining that in his case, "until recently" it was the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands that bore that expense, but for some time the regional Executive agreed that the administration where its employees are "with special services" should make the payments.