This decision jeopardizes the future of 42 caregivers, igniting a conflict between unions and the Government of the Canary Islands. Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO.) demands that the regional executive take over the contracts to maintain jobs, a request the responsible ministry has flatly rejected.
Zayda González, social intervention coordinator for CC.OO. Canarias, described the situation as "especially heartbreaking," denouncing that workers have performed their duties "exemplarily" since 2019 under "highly precarious" conditions with an emergency contract that kept their salaries frozen for years. She criticizes that this precariousness has persisted for nearly nine years, long after the resource ceased to be an emergency measure.
The union considers the justification for dismissal "ridiculous," arguing that the real reason is the inability to afford salary increases. González laments the "lack of empathy" towards staff who have navigated crises and the pandemic with "severely diminished conditions."
She also denounced the "lack of transparency and good faith" in the process, as workers were informed of the closure on June 16th, effective July 1st, despite secret negotiations ongoing since May. "Suddenly, they were told the center closes on July 1st. I don't see that the deadlines were respected, nor that there was any good faith in negotiating relocation," she stated.
CCOO points to a contradiction in the Government of the Canary Islands' policies, which advocate for small residential resources for individualized care but are now closing two centers of this profile to relocate minors to larger ones. According to González, this breaks "a bond and roots, not only with the educators but with the land, the neighborhood," urging for the service and staff to be maintained through a viable legal formula.
“"Take care of the staff, take care of this family, and do not contribute to increasing precariousness in the Canary Islands"
The union coordinator highlighted the difficulty in finding personnel in the child care sector due to its high precariousness and mobility, urging the managing company to reallocate experienced workers instead of issuing new job offers. She warns that despite the decrease in attended minors, arrivals have not ceased, questioning what will happen if experienced staff are dismissed only to need to recruit new personnel shortly after, emphasizing the economic viability of retaining them.
For its part, the Minister of Social Welfare, Candelaria Delgado, justified the closure by the low occupancy of the centers, making "unsustainable" emergency contracts that stipulate payment per spot, regardless of occupancy. Delgado has vehemently rejected the request to take over the 42 employees, calling it "illogical" and "unrealistic," and stated that "when the contract ends, the contract ends." She explained that as it is an emergency contract with a private company, the latter is responsible for managing its employees, and that residential reception is the responsibility of the island councils (cabildos), not the regional executive which only assumed it due to the emergency.
