The CSIF union has announced a strike day for all workers at the Tax Agency on June 8 if there are no significant advances in their demands. This pressure measure follows a protest held this Friday in front of the special delegation of the Tax Agency in Gran Canaria.
Workers are demanding the unblocking of their professional career, fair regulation of remote work, recognition of risk profession for Customs Surveillance agents, and an increase in staff to alleviate the workload. Javier Cruz, CSIF spokesperson in the Canary Islands for the General Administration of the State, has denounced the attitude of the Tax Agency's management, accusing them of trying to divide trade unions and refusing to negotiate.
“"If this is not resolved, then we will go to the strike day, it is the only thing the administration forces us into when it does not sit down to negotiate and also tries to divide us."
Javier Cruz also highlighted the workload suffered by staff, stating that "politicians in this country are responsible for dictating regulations, making laws, and so on, but then, when it comes to sitting down at a table to work and process files, it is done by a public employee." He recalled that this overload has been seen in Social Security, Immigration, and Post Office offices, as "they issue regulations without considering the impact they have."
Another major point of friction is the regulation of remote work. Cruz argued that the COVID pandemic demonstrated that remote work is an effective tool for getting work done. "It has been proven that with remote work, or distance work, the work gets done," he stated, emphatically adding, "He who does not work in his office, does not work at home either, and he who works in the office, works at home." He denounced a lack of political will to consolidate it.
