The councilors of Lanzarote en Pie - Sí Podemos met with the labor inspection to claim the working conditions of Lanzarote Bus. According to a press release, "it all started with an open letter sent by a group of anonymous workers from the Lanzarote Bus group of companies to their boss, businesswoman Esther Cabrera", in which they recounted "a whole series of abuses of their labor rights". This letter, which arrived with the Christmas greetings to all the political groups of the Cabildo, is signed by a "group of workers from the companies Lanzarote Bus, Jocaba, Guaguas Lanzarote and Guaguas Jocaba".
Among the complaints collected by the letter, there are salary cuts of "more than 200 euros", opening of files "for insignificant reasons, with threats and dismissals", "illegal split shifts", and the poor conditions of the facilities in which they have to attend to the vehicles. These shortcomings denounced also by the union representatives contrast with the standard of living that, according to them, the well-known businesswoman leads. "Despite the fact that you are mortgaging the future of our children and we have to find out that yesterday you bought a hotel, today a warehouse", says the letter.
The seriousness of what was reported forced the island confluence to get involved in the case, taking into account that it is a business group that receives public subsidies and is hired by both the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands for different permanent services - such as school transport or the service in the Timanfaya National Park - and occasional ones.
Subsidies and recognitions
The transport company, which also manages Intercity Bus, -the urban buses that operate in the capital of the island- received less than a year ago 770,000? from the Cabildo of Lanzarote for the acquisition of four buses. "We cannot understand that a public institution rewards in this way a company that does not seem to respect basic labor rights", questions councilor Myriam Barros.
Similarly, in more recent dates, the Cabildo of Lanzarote conveyed its "congratulations to the company that holds the concession for intercity transport on the island" after receiving a business award granted by a magazine in the sector. "Nerea Santana, councilor for employment, sent the congratulations without having verified the working conditions of the company, which seems inexplicable to us", continues Barros.
Complaint to the labor inspection
Both Myriam Barros and Jorge Peñas, purple representatives in the first island institution, went together with the union representatives of the business group to the headquarters of the provincial labor inspection of Las Palmas to try to find solutions to the unsustainable situation. "We are facing a serious issue, we have many workers driving buses in which they have 55 lives in their hands, on the verge of earning the minimum wage. It is irresponsible and the institutions are there to mediate in these situations", declared Jorge Peñas.
"We will also look for solutions from the Cabildo itself, we have already closed a meeting with the councilor for Employment and Transport, Nerea Santana, to which we will go with the union representatives to demand everything that is in her power", Myriam Barros advanced.
