After two banners in which it was demanded that no more salary reductions be made and that sick leaves be covered, about 30 cleaning workers from the Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital gathered around 10 in the morning outside the center. The rhythm of the song "from Chanquete's boat, they won't move us?" gave rise to a wide range of slogans, such as "United in the fight, they won't move us?" or "The cleaning girls, we want them to cover our sick leaves."
Ramón Pérez Farray, secretary of Trade Union Action and Organization of Workers' Commissions (CCOO), explained that since December 1, 2007, the company ISS Facility Services assumed responsibility for cleaning the Hospital, which was previously in the hands of Ferfaler S.L, the management "has been a disaster." And he assures that the new concessionaire "does not cover sick leaves or any other type of license, which means a workload for the rest of the workers."
"It must also be considered that salaries have not only not increased but have been reduced considerably compared to the other company, and in addition to that there are other series of breaches, such as the mobility of workers within the workplace," says Pérez Farray. The secretary of Trade Union Action and Organization of CCOO indicates that this affects about 72 workers and that both the Hospital Management and the company are aware of these facts. So far, they emphasize that a solution has not been sought. Pérez affirms that the company has made "threats" to solve the situation, although he denounces that when "the workers slow down", it does not comply with what it is obliged to by Law
Back in September, Workers' Commissions indicated that they requested the Ministry of Health, the Hospital Management and the Lanzarote Health Area to revise the budget that had been allocated to this area, since "it was practically at the limit of what was reckless," because "it was not enough to cover the salaries of the workers and the obligations of any company." But although they maintained contacts with the manager of the hospital center, Pérez denounces that they were not given "any attention."
The union points out that these working conditions deteriorate the cleanliness of the hospital, a fact that directly affects the user. And everything, according to the union, is due to the fact that the service is not well distributed and the overload of workers in their work environment.
Thus, Pérez warns that they are not going to "tolerate any abuse of workers' rights." Concentrations have been organized every day of the week from 10:00 to 10:30 and from 18:00 to 18:30 in the afternoon shift. If the objectives are not achieved, the union does not rule out, if the workers so decide, moving on to other types of actions.
