Workers dismantle furniture at a hotel in Minorca

Workers dismantle furniture at a hotel in Minorca for the winter season. | EFE

Andrew EdePalma 22/11/2024 10:00
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Two years ago the unions in the Balearics were warning of a “hot winter” if the hospitality sector didn’t play ball and give them a satisfactory, post-Covid, inflation-linked collective bargaining agreement. At one stage there was union talk of double-digit pay rises for single years. In the end there was a meek acceptance of 5% and 3.3% - 8.3% over two years.

There’s always some posturing ahead of these negotiations. The unions haven’t yet repeated the hot winter threat of 2022, but they are certainly intimating that talks could be so tough, so long, so complicated that there won’t be agreement in time for the ‘official’ May the first start to next season. How long do they need!?

The negotiations are important; 160,000 or so jobs depend on them. The current government won’t be getting involved directly, unlike the last one. But it might end up having to be involved.

It isn’t just the hoteliers. Restaurants and nightlife are covered by the same agreement. They have been complaining about a fall in turnover. The unions want an unheard of plus five per cent next year. The sector’s inclined to tell them where they can shove it along with various other conditions. There’s already talk of swords being sharpened for May, and hence the prospect of a different type of tourism protest.