Canary Islands plan to reallocate 130,000 hours to trade unions

The key points: Show summary Hide summary

The Canary Islands have reached a preliminary agreement to reinstate the trade union hours and time off work that were cut in 2012.
The agreement reallocates 130,000 hours and provides for 40 leave-of-absence arrangements, five for each trade union.
The CCOO is calling for a clause in the 2027 regional budget to be removed, as it could render the agreement ineffective.

Members see a handy summary here

The UGT, CSIF and CCOO trade unions and the Government of the Canary Islands signed a preliminary agreement on Friday to restore trade union time and the number of full-time union representatives – rights that were cut back in 2012. The signing was attended by the regional president, Fernando Clavijo, who thanked the trade unionists for believing in the commitment he had made at the start of the legislative term.

Hide advertising here!

Francisco Bautista, of the UGT, explained that in 2012 the PP government passed a decree which allowed the then Regional Minister for Public Administration in the Canary Islands, Francisco Hernández Spínola, to «deal a fatal blow» to the trade unions and strip them of «fundamental rights that had been recognised», and that this preliminary agreement restores those rights.

«What Hernández Spínola did» was «to deprive us of the resources we needed to look after our civil servants», Bautista has claimed.

Canary Islands: 130,000 trade union hours to be reallocated

He added that «things are now being put in their proper place», with an equitable distribution of seats amongst the trade union organisations participating in the General Committee for Public Sector Employees, the Health Sector Committee, the Education Sector Committee and the Justice Sector Committee.

Bautista explained that under this agreement, the 130,000 hours set aside for trade union work are allocated within the General Committee for Public Sector Employees, with 40 full-time positions – five for each trade union organisation – and the remainder distributed proportionally according to the level of representation held by each organisation.

He emphasised that in 2013 there were 26,000 public sector employees in the health service and 22,000 in education, and that there are now 46,000 and 30,000 respectively; hence the importance of recognising the work of the trade unions through this commitment.

The UGT representative has pointed out that, for the General Administration of the autonomous community, the draft agreement represents an increase of just 2 per cent in the total number of hours.

All those involved are confident that the draft agreement will be ratified by the General Committee of Public Sector Employees, before being submitted to the Governing Council for approval.

CCOO warns against a clause in the 2027 regional budget

Pedro Costeras, the coordinator of the public sector division of CCOO Canarias, has stated that the draft agreement restores rights that were curtailed in 2012 and has called for the 2027 regional budget to remove a clause which, he has warned, nullifies trade union agreements and could render it ineffective.

Costeras has argued that a well-represented workforce with guaranteed rights ensures high-quality public services.

The regional president of CSIF, César Martínez Araque, has emphasised that the proposal will also benefit organisations that have not signed it.

Martínez Araque has praised the Government’s willingness to engage and the trade unions‘ efforts in reaching the preliminary agreement, which he regards as a first step towards stable regulation of time credit and the functioning of the general committee.

The Canary Islands Government explains the delay in the restoration work

Nieves Lady Barreto, the Regional Minister for the Presidency, Public Administration, Justice and Security of the Canary Islands Government, has stated that the draft bill reflects an administration with a larger workforce and new requirements, and has expressed her hope that it will be submitted to the Governing Council as soon as possible, following its discussion in the plenary session.

The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has stated that this agreement fulfils a commitment he made at the start of his term of office, the implementation of which has been delayed due to the absence of a national budget and the government’s reorganisation of its priorities.

Clavijo expressed his gratitude to the signatory trade unions for having sought a balanced agreement for all organisations and defended their work as essential to the quality of public services and the oversight of institutions.