An argument, indeed an outrage, that has been rumbling on for six months has now culminated in some 20 Arona lifeguards going on hunger strike. The guards have not been paid wages for all that time, and unions say they deplore the Ayuntamiento's "passivity" in effectively ignoring the workers' plight. The council, for its part, says that the problem is that the lifeguards are employed, and must be paid, by a private company contracted by the municipality, and that this company is in financial difficulties.
Some might ask whether or not this company is now surely in breach of its contractual obligations to the Ayuntamiento, since it can hardly be expected that such contracts allow for employees' wages not to be paid. As such, some might also ask why the council hasn't annulled the contract and given it to another business which will pay its staff. Such tales of workers going months without pay are not uncommon here, indeed they underpin the frequent rubbish strikes that plague the south of Tenerife, but six months without money and workers needing to go on hunger strike in desperation brings shame on Tenerife. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
The papers today are covering the story of one of the hunger strikers, Verónica Rodríguez, who is staging her hunger strike in a tent at her place of work on Playa de las Vistas in Los Cristianos. Why should I not live in a tent, she says? I've already lost everything and the bank is about to repossess my apartment and evict me anyway because my family are no longer able to help me keep up the mortgage payments. Given that she has a job, she would not be one of the tiny minority entitled to kind treatment by banks: that this job is not bringing in any wages would not be considered "relevant". The lifeguards' situation has been called "unsustainable". It's not the only situation that could be so described.
This is no doubt one of thousands of similar stories throughout Spain! And still nothing is done. I have a vision of headless chickens running around government and council offices throughout Spain very, very, very slowly.
Isn't the council failing in it's public safety roll now? Even if it's not the councils fault over the pay? The council now knows whats happening and the life guards cannot function at the necessary level if their on hunger strike. So effectively there are no life guards.
Will the council close the beach?
The council has assured the public that there is no danger to safety .....
of course .....
I bet they won't say what the contingency plans are! It's more than likely a council employe crossing their finger on both hands instead of just one!!
This scenario is totally disgusting. It is making Spain look like a third world country.
Frankly, I think it's worse than a third world country. Spain has encouraged people to believe and behave as though it were a rich country in which they could invest safely. All the while it was riddled with corrupt banks, corrupt politicians, and corrupt businesses. And then when it all explodes it leaves its own people to starve in the streets.
I really hope the lifeguards prevail and get all their back wages.
I've just sent a 'I've got a story' to our favourite news paper!!!!
Quote from: Guanche on Thu 31 Jan 2013, 17:56
I've just sent a 'I've got a story' to our favourite news paper!!!!
Not
that favourite newspaper? :giggle:
Why not?
Quote from: Guanche on Thu 31 Jan 2013, 17:56
I've just sent a 'I've got a story' to our favourite news paper!!!!
To which newspaper are we referring here?
I was taking it for the Daily Mail ... :undecided:
Quote from: Janet on Fri 1 Feb 2013, 14:39
I was taking it for the Daily Mail ... :undecided:
God I hope not.
Just the sort of story where there is scope for them completely misinterpret the perspective of the wrong end of the stick and blow it out of all proportion.
And they might well run with it simply because it is a well known tourist resort.
Don't take your kids there ..... they will die.
More than a little counterproductive...
I am sure the gentleman is referring to some Spanish publication where there is at least a chance of the exposure having positive repercussions.
Yes I sent it to the Daily Mail with the full knowledge if it's inaccurate and hate filled sensationalism. The reason? firstly for the support of the Spanish life guards who deserve better, and secondly the beaches are unsafe and people should be told about it. I doubt very much that there would be any counterproductively as most people will have booked their holidays months ago and so will be coming anyway. But more importantly It might spur some corrupt politician or civil servant to get of their arses and do something about it!
Or should we just wring our hands and do nothing? :undecided:
I doubt it very much.
Can I ask you which Spanish papers you have informed?
Quote from: El Profesor on Fri 1 Feb 2013, 16:12
I doubt it very much.
Can I ask you which Spanish papers you have informed?
Yes, I doubt it very much as well. But if one doesn't try one will never know.
Unfortunately my Spanish is not as proficient as it probably should be. So I will leave you to inform the Spanish press :tiphat:
Having thought about it I see no point in telling the Spanish press Firstly they should already know about it and secondly the political elite don't give a rats arse about the Spanish people so any news report would be a waste of print. Better my way, they earn money from UK tourists. Hit them where it hurts. They only take notice of money!
There is now a petition to sign urging Arona council to get these lifeguards paid. It is HERE (http://www.change.org/es/peticiones/antonio-sosa-concejal-de-medio-ambiente-de-arona-tenerife-que-pague-a-los-socorristas-6-meses-sin-cobrar-3-en-huelga). It's only in Spanish, I'm afraid, but all that's needed is for you to enter your first name, then your surname, then your email address. There is room for a comment but that's optional. Then click to sign.
Signed :tiphat:
I can't make head nor tail of it but I think I signed. :undecided:
Signed the petition. They also have a FB page, which I hope this link (http://www.facebook.com/pages/SOS-Socorristas-ARONA/460554070665047) goes to.
If not, go to THE 'SOS Socorristas ARONA' page which you can like.
I think the problem here is that Arona council are spending all their (our) money on lawyers to defend themselves against numerous corruption charges that are slowly plodding through the courts.
Quote from: Janet on Thu 31 Jan 2013, 00:49
.............. The council, for its part, says that the problem is that the lifeguards are employed, and must be paid, by a private company contracted by the municipality, and that this company is in financial difficulties.........
And indeed I heard a slimy geezer on the radio saying that the council can't pay them ..... obviously ...... because they aren't council employees.
However this article HERe says (http://www.laopinion.es/tenerife/2013/02/09/juez-insta-arona-asumir-deuda-socorristas/458877.html) - that today a judge in the court in Santa Cruz has ordered
for the THIRD time that Arona own up to how much they owe this company AND PAY UP. The judge (unable to find out even how much is owed) is now threatening the council with contempt of court.
The company hired by the council has folded and has no money.
One of these lifeguards was sacked and won an unfair dismissal case in July and was reinstated. In her case all the money owed to her that was stipulated in that judgement (10,000€) must be paid by the Arona Council because the other company is insolvent and because it was subcontracted.
and somehow it seems that the Ayto's claim that it "doesn't owe the contractor money" is technically correct because for some reason no invoices have been submitted for payment for some time .....
Quote from: Janet on Sat 9 Feb 2013, 18:33
and somehow it seems that the Ayto's claim that it "doesn't owe the contractor money" is technically correct because for some reason no invoices have been submitted for payment for some time .....
All predictably fishy ... yes
Fishy no. Predictable yes
Signed.
just posted the following on my website:
Arona Ayuntamiento has said that it would be "illegal" to pay the outstanding salaries to the lifeguards because there is no contract between them and the council. The local authority apologised to residents and beach users for any inconvenience caused by the dispute, and said that Arona has always been noted for the excellence of its services, confirmed by the numerous distinctions bestowed on its beaches.
The council claimed that it understood the lifeguards' motives but could not agree with the way in which they were protesting, and stressed that since the award of the contract to a new business was in process, it was hoped that the situation would get back to normal as quickly as possible. Fine words, so perhaps the Ayuntamiento will now yield to the Courts' third demand, on pain of being found in contempt of Court, for it to release information on how much it owes the contractor who did employ the lifguards, and to make good the payments owing. That, surely, won't be illegal. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
And I'm sure the "new company", if it exists, will be more than willing to pay the 6 months back-pay owed to the workers... :whistle:
And apparently the Ayuntamiento is sending the cops to harrass the strikers. These people must have turds for hearts.
Quote from: Myrtle Hogan-Lance on Tue 12 Feb 2013, 11:42
And apparently the Ayuntamiento is sending the cops to harrass the strikers. These people must have turds for hearts.
Those would be the same cops that confiscate buskers' instruments.
Quote from: El Profesor on Tue 12 Feb 2013, 13:39
Those would be the same cops that confiscate buskers' instruments.
In some cases it is to protect the general public's ears.
And the same cops that probably will not be getting paid by the end of the year. If not already! :undecided:
The following is a Press Release in the form of an open letter to the public and to Arona Ayuntamiento from Verónica Rodríguez Rodríguez, the Las Vistas lifeguard who is on hunger strike, She has issued it in response to the council's statement that I posted yesterday. (The press release was evidently in Spanish – this is my translation).
QuoteOn 12 February, the newspaper El Dia published a statement from Arona Ayuntamiento as a response to the "conflict". We (or at least I) were surprised because for six months of what they call "conflict" they have not previously issued any information to the public about the situation and the minimum services that have been provided in Arona beaches since 9 November 2011.
In the face of such a statement full of nonsense and half truths, I would like to clarify that:
The contract awarded by Arona Ayuntamiento in 2009 to Sport & Salvament SLU expired in November 2011 because the Ayuntamiento "forgot" to extend it. Even so, the local authority continued paying invoices until August 2012, the point at which July-August's bill was withheld because of an embargo imposed by the social security and tax authorities. This means that the Ayuntamiento paid these authorities instead of the business. It seems that this situation surprised them, because they then decided to stop so as not to take on Sport & Salvament SLU's embargoes.
In July 2012, the employees stopped receiving their salaries.
In August 2012, the contract was put out to tender, a competition won by Eulen SL, which renounced the award a month later, in November, because of the "existence of lawsuits that it would have to assume", and because this would involve great cost. The contract was next awarded to Pro-Activa, which itself renounced the contract on 1 February 2013 for the same reasons.
Throughout all this time, the employees of the three Arona beaches, with blue flags – and Las Vistas also with AENOR flag for Universal Accessibility – have never stopped providing the service, always believing, until 15 days ago, in the "Ayuntamiento's attempts to solve the problem" (as the council says).
In view of the strike call, the Council demanded "minimum services" given that this is an "essential public service". The Department of Employment confirmed this, and so we were "obliged" to provide the service every day without receiving anything in return. They have never bothered even to offer us food and water.
Over the last six months we have had no contact whatsoever with the company Sport & Salvament, and the Ayuntamiento, knowing that there was no contract with the company, that it had solvency problems, and that there have been notifications on several occasions from the lifeguard base that they were working in precarious conditions, have not bothered either to replace first aid materials, to clean public facilities, nor to check vehicles whose papers are now months out of date and which cannot make the appropriate patrols since there's no fuel, let alone transfers to the beaches of Los Cristianos and El Camisón, and cover for the half hour breaks of the lifeguards who are providing minimum services there.
I am "surprised" that for six months Arona Ayuntamiento has not "informed the public" and that they do so now as a result of reports in the press and discussion as a major topic in online social networks, British forums, etc., and that it has not been concerned with the sanitary conditions of a service to the public service that provides in its turn a socio-sanitary and public security service. And as "we now" reveal the truth, they put out a statement where they accuse us of little less than vandalism. This is untrue, and a serious accusation without proof which is punishable in law. Faced with the charge that "we have destroyed Public Facilities" we say this is not true, and that all we have are flags, sheets, and cardboard, and a campaign stands. I want to make clear that I (Veronica Rodriguez) have been camping at the lifeguard base since January 29, am on hunger strike, and that I woke up on Sunday to find slogans had been posted. The maintenance staff were deleting "only part" of them, and so I asked why they were not clearing them all. They replied that these were their orders. Then the police arrived to take pictures and that same night the council issued its statement. It seems particularly "strange" to me.
To Arona Ayuntamiento, I say:
Break the deadlock now of this situation that only you have caused, and which has already been delayed (now six and a half months). If the service had been rescued in September 2012, after the embargo on Sport & Salvament, the situation would not be so tense now. We have complied with your demands for minimum services, even without the means to come to work: many without car insurance, without fuel, living on borrowed money, credit, not even having food to eat, and with "some colleagues" who are demonstrating peacefully for donations given by sympathetic beach users and tourists. This now violates our constitutional, employment and "human" rights.
I also say that the current situation (after three months of strike without a solution) has been reported to the Department of Employment for them to "reconsider the provision of minimum services". As we understand it, it is ridiculous and somewhat inhuman to demand employees go to work without being paid for six months" and in the deplorable sanitary conditions in which the service finds itself.
In response to your statement I also say that: of the "two people" they mention who are on hunger strike, Marco Luccini passed out on Thursday, his 5th day without eating; he was taken away by ambulance and admitted to hospital for several hours. Obviously at that point he had to abandon the hunger strike. This is further proof that the Ayuntamiento have not been to the lifeguard base not have any idea of how things really are. The employee who remains on hunger strike, now for 15 days, and who is sleeping at the lifeguard base, is me.
To "apologize to users and tourists" is well and good, but you have failed in refusing to accept responsibility for the situation of the 18 lifeguards who , without being paid for six months, continue to supply the service.
I hope that these clarifications will add to the statement issued by Arona Environment Department.
Yours faithfully
Verónica Rodríguez Rodríguez.
At Playa de Las Vistas, Arona, 12 February 2013
JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
That's incredible, you couldn't have imagined it.
So, corruption and ineptitude from the President of the country down to the local administration. The tragedy is that I doubt that will get in the papers, they wouldn't be allowed.
. Where did you find it? I couldn't see it anywhere.
Sweet translation, by the way :clap:
Thanks Prof. Mostly my site is reported news ... occasionally it's journalism. This time it's journalism.
I got it first. It will be in the Spanish papers today IF they have the balls to publish it.
:tiphat:
I can't see it on web pages.
Nothing to do with balls I'm afraid.
Quote from: Janet on Wed 13 Feb 2013, 09:42
............ This time it's journalism.
I got it first. .......
:tiphat:
If this is the case then maybe you should publish it in Spanish .... maybe no-one else will.
You might get a hit or two on the JA site with "Verónica Rodríguez Arona"
That's a good idea, Prof.
OK, here's a link to the original. Off to put it on my website, tweet it, FB it ... :tiphat:
[attachmini=1]
Maybe I'll re-send my 'I've got a story' to the DM again and every other UK news paper that has the facility. Come to think about it. Wouldn't the UK or all tour operators to the South of Tenerife have a corporate responsibility to advise there customers about the lack of safety on the beaches? :undecided:
Quote from: Guanche on Wed 13 Feb 2013, 11:04
Maybe I'll re-send my 'I've got a story' to the DM again and every other UK news paper that has the facility. Come to think about it. Wouldn't the UK or all tour operators to the South of Tenerife have a corporate responsibility to advise there customers about the lack of safety on the beaches? :undecided:
Do us a favour and copy & paste it on here as well. :tiphat:
Quote from: Michael on Wed 13 Feb 2013, 11:11
Do us a favour and copy & paste it on here as well. :tiphat:
They didn't run it last time Michael and it was a slow news day!
Just a couple of questions, to clarify things before I go for it.
There is in fact
some life guards working on the affected beaches providing minimum cover but just not being paid by anyone?
If not is there any cover at all, extra Police, extra Protection civil patrols or anything?
The Mayor has been convicted of corruption or is being investigated for corruption and appealing against it?
All the beaches have the 'Blue' flag. I will be contacting the EU agency that over sees the issue of the flags as life saving capabilities are one of the criteria for having a blue flag.
Think thats all for now. I know this info is here somewhere I just need to be sure of my facts.
Quote from: Guanche on Wed 13 Feb 2013, 11:33
Just a couple of questions, to clarify things before I go for it. ...
There is in fact some life guards working on the affected beaches providing minimum cover but just not being paid by anyone?Yes, as Veronica says, they are obliged by employment law to provide minimum services during a strike because the nature of their work is a public service. They have appealed now to the Dept of Employment not to enforce this any more since they have been working, albeit minimum services, for six months without pay, but at present, and until and unless the Government allows them to stop, they continue to provide those minimum services.
The Mayor has been convicted of corruption or is being investigated for corruption and appealing against it?There is now a new mayor. The previous mayor was investigated, found guilty, appealed ... and refused to resign until the appeal went against him, if it did. It did. He still had to be forced out of office, with those who opposed him complaining of damage to their cars, threatening behaviour, even death threats in one or two cases.
All the beaches have the 'Blue' flag. I will be contacting the EU agency that over sees the issue of the flags as life saving capabilities are one of the criteria for having a blue flag.They most certainly are part of the criteria. The problem is that there are lifeguards ... just working to rule.
:tiphat:
Thanks Janet. It's going to be a hard one to sell. Making it sound a bad as possible yet still telling the truth! I know this sounds terrible but it would be better if there was no cover at all.
Just one thing Janet, was it you that posted a record number of drowning's on Tenerife last year? I may have read it somewhere else can't remember. :undecided:
Yes, I've been campaigning quietly about it for some time now ...
HERE's (http://chalkcat.com/index.php?topic=983.0)the thread. :)
Papers mightn't go with it, but the TV is. She's been interviewed today on RTVC, and the live Good Morning Canaries programme will be there tomorrow at 8am. She would welcome the support of anyone who can go along.
Quote from: El Profesor on Wed 13 Feb 2013, 09:12I doubt that will get in the papers, they wouldn't be allowed.
Quote from: El Profesor on Wed 13 Feb 2013, 09:54
Nothing to do with balls I'm afraid.
Could you explain??
Quote from: Janet on Wed 13 Feb 2013, 14:56
Could you explain??
Media manipulation. Arona is a CC stronghold, it's simply not in their interest.
For example, not shopping your brother for holding up the post office has nothing to do with balls, you just don't do it.
but they don't have all the press in their pocket, do they?? surely?? El Día?? :undecided:
Well they don't have El Pais! Ok I know it's from the peninsular :)
Well the silence in the papers is going to get very loud at some point because that was a really good live interview with Veronica this morning on TV Canaria. They really showed Arona Ayuntamiento up as a shameless authority, refusing wages while demanding work. The interviewers were really effective, leading viewers to the conclusion that the Ayto was trying to have it both ways ... either they employed the lifeguards, in which case they should pay them, or they "had no direct contract" with them ... in which case who was the authority to demand that the lifeguards work ...
Good journalism, from the TV station anyway, even if the papers have tied their own hands.
:clap:
Veronica collapsed yesterday after her interview on Canarian television. She was taken to hospital suffering a migraine and low blood pressure. The Ayuntamiento had just sent someone to check that minimum services were being provided but it seems that is all the support they can offer this woman, and her fellow strikers, amidst further reports of intimidating visits by Policía Local sent by the Ayuntamiento. This morning Veronica has said that although she is still feeling the after effects of the migraine and the antibiotics she was given, she is stable, and will stay at home today. She intends, however, to return to the base to protest. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
Veronica is indomitable. She is back at the base, protesting once again. She is no longer on hunger strike, after yesterday this isn't possible, but she is back to her protest, along with her fellow unpaid lifeguards, providing minimum services for a council that requires them to work but denies any employer relationship with them! JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
I just cannot see the legality to all this. I hate to make comparisons but if this was in the UK there would be court cases and protests to Strasbourg. How can a body (the council via the Employment ministry) demand that people they don't employ (the life guards) work for nothing. They have no contract with the council only their employer, who is bankrupt of has ceased trading or what ever????
The contract is with the life guards employer not the life guards. This is forced labour!! Sorry just letting off steam I just cannot comprehend how things get to this state. I should though I've been here long enough. :021:
Situation seems to be that they provide an "essential service" for a municipality. That gives the council some control in respect of Spanish employment law for provision of minimum services in essential fields during strikes.
The problem is that this whole aspect is based on the assumption that both sides are seeking resolution to the dispute which has ended in a strike. The lifeguards say that this goodwill is lacking on Arona's side (ain't that the truth!) and so they have asked the Spanish Dept of Employment to release them from the requirement to provide the minumum service.
http://youtu.be/CXjEvWkePMs
Above is a recent news report from antena3canarias on the lifeguards which also shows how neglected the Arona base is, and in particular how empty the medical cabinet is. Are these lifeguards also expected to supply first aid equipment? Does Arona Ayuntamiento actually accept any responsibility for anything? For shame.
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/soc2-400-x-300.jpg)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/socorristas-300-x-400.jpg)
Veronica has posted today some photos on her FB account, the above are a couple - the first of the lifeguard base office, and the second of a cupboard empty of essential medical supplies. As Veronica says, the oxygen equipment is not inspected, and they are almost out of oxygen itself. The "office" has no telephone, no fax - not even fire extinguishers, which I understood were a legal requirement. In short, they have been provided with nothing that any functioning office should have.
Are these lifeguards supposed to use their own mobiles for emergency calls? Their own mobiles when they're not even being paid? And the quad supplied for rapid emergency displacement has been left for months without insurance, without an MOT, even without petrol! These are the conditions in which they are expected to work, conditions which would appall any employee ... let alone those who aren't even being paid .....
Canarias7 recently ran an article (HERE (http://www.canarias7.es/articulo.cfm?id=291690)) about Arona's attempt to sell itself at a very recent tourism fair (Feria Internacional de Turismo - Fitur). As the paper says, the council stressed its climate, its hotels, and above all, the excellence of its beaches. The article continues that nobody said a word, however, about the fact that these beaches are now manned by unpaid forced labour with a minimum safety provision.
Tourism is Tenerife's, and of course Arona's, main economic motor. Apart from the shamefulness of the situation, it is just absolutely stupid to allow things to come to this pass. Even if the council cares nothing for its own reputation, surely it is not determined to ruin that of its main asset! JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
I had a quick read through the some of the Human rights legislation over the weekend and there is, unfortunately, a clause that does allow for f--king forced labour (sorry for the language but it really gets me going :gonnagetit:) in the interest of public protection public protection workers can be made to provide cover. I could never see such a clause being invoked by civilised people. But it's there.
Quote from: Guanche on Mon 18 Feb 2013, 16:13I could never see such a clause being invoked by civilised people.
It still hasn't been ....... :whistle:
What's her facebook page called Janet. I've look at her name but it come up with lots! :undecided:
There are two ...
the lifeguards one, which she posts on, is SOS-Socorristas-ARONA (HERE (https://www.facebook.com/pages/SOS-Socorristas-ARONA/460554070665047))
her personal one is Verónica Rodríguez Rodríguez (HERE (https://www.facebook.com/veronica.r.r))
:tiphat:
Thanks for that. I've 'liked' one and sent a 'friend request' to the other.
As one who is so far away, I feel for those people and feel so powerless to help.
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/Captura-490-x-871.jpg)
As I posted previously, Veronica took it upon herself to contact the Dept of Employment, not least because the lifeguards were being required to provide a minimum service even when there was no apparent desire to negotiate on the part of Arona Ayuntamiento – it is the assumption of such goodwill that underpins the requirement for minimum services, with the idea that an agreement will be reached quickly. The Dirección Grl.de Trabajo replied to Veronica in some surprise, because the Ayuntamiento had seemingly not once brought the dispute to their attention.
Veronica was requested to go to Santa Cruz yesterday to see Dept of Employment officials, and she says that she got a very good feeling from the meeting, not least the feeling that there was actually someone in authority who had an interest in the case and in offering a bit of protection. The Dept has said that it wishes to mediate between the lifeguards and Arona Ayuntamiento, and above is a copy of the "invitation" to a mediation meeting set for next Tuesday. This particular photo is of the letter to Sport & Salvament, but the Ayuntamiento and lifeguards are also called to attend. As Veronica says, only time will tell whether they will do so, but they will not do their cause any good if they boycott a meeting called by the national Government's own Department of Employment. Some progress has been made, and it is Veronica herself who has made it.
Could people just click HERE (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5D9QK8BMKZKFQ) and tell me what you see?? Please ? :)
(It should be a paypal account for the lifeguards ... )
I see a paypal thingy with title veronica.rod.rod@gmail.com
Good. Can anyone who actually uses paypal tell me if this is the link she needs to put on FB, and which I can myself put on my own website for people to donate??
Looks good to me :tiphat:
Excellent, thank you!!
Veronica has been strongly encouraged by many British visitors and residents to set up a paypal account for donations for the lifeguard cause. She has now done so, and the link is HERE (https://www.paypal.com/es/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=BTw074127Zn-9AP-R6QiH62-vV5QdDiXtYvxyVYyHp07xUyO7GGCVXefPw8&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d569c51c61ce57e9125f793ea33988004): I hope it works – I'm not a paypal user. I would just like to stress that this is not something she has taken an initiative on, but is reacting to many suggestions and requests from those who wish to help. She says that all monies will go towards their cause. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
Now that link doesn't work because it has a session related to it.
Try THIS ONE (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5D9QK8BMKZKFQ). You need to correct the link on your website too. The first link you posted is good but the second one isn't.
I hope I've corrected this now. Go to
:link: (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5D9QK8BMKZKFQ)
BlancaHari taking no prisoners on the matter ...
:link: (http://blancahari.com/2013/02/18/varias-concesiones-de-servicios-publicos-no-pagan-nada-al-ayuntamiento-gracias-a-sosa-cc/)
In summary:
QuoteResumiendo, para que sepan por dónde van los tiros, digamos que examinando en su conjunto todos los servicios públicos, especialmente los que se desarrollan en dominio público (suelo de todos), si no están regidos por corrupción, lo parece bastante. En algún caso puede ser simple negligencia-ineptitud-incapacidad, pero de tal magnitud, que es fácil que conlleve responsabilidades legales (las éticas y morales ya sabemos que escasean entre políticos como los de Arona). Y en otros, ufff, ni negligencia ni leches. Toda la pinta de chanchullo. Luego habrá quien se sorprenda si saltan los sobres...
Google translate isn't great but I think I get the general drift. ::)
yeah ... in a nutshell, effectively, they're either crooks or incompetents, and although the benefit of the doubt might say incompetence, the sheer scale of it really leads one to the inevitable conclusion that they're crooks ...
Mayor flees ... gone on holiday, won't be around for the council meeting .....
:link: (http://blancahari.com/2013/02/22/el-alcalde-huye-de-arona-y-deja-a-su-desgobierno-solito-con-sus-escandalos-legales-socorrismo-playas/)
Quote from: Janet on Fri 22 Feb 2013, 12:16
Mayor flees ... gone on holiday, won't be around for the council meeting .....
:link: (http://blancahari.com/2013/02/22/el-alcalde-huye-de-arona-y-deja-a-su-desgobierno-solito-con-sus-escandalos-legales-socorrismo-playas/)
Coward or just arrogant? Hard to choose :undecided: If I was forced to I would say arrogant!
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/arona-pleno.jpg)
As I posted above, the lifeguards, along with others, were invited to a mediation meeting with the Government this morning. Now, Arona's full council meetings are always held on a Thursday, and the lifeguards were planning a protest during this week's meeting. Lo and behold, according to activist website BlancaHari (http://blancahari.com/), the mayor has gone "on holiday", and the council meeting was shifted ..... to this morning at 8.30, the very time the lifeguards were to be in Santa Cruz. As evident in the above photo of this morning's council meeting, however, Arona's attempt to avoid a protest at their meeting failed badly: the photo shows lifeguards, journalists, radio and TV all attending. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
In the mediation meeting convened by the DG de Trabajo, the company did not attend, hardly surprising since it has not been involved in the matter for a considerable time, but the council was represented ... by an Environment technician. In the chair, and mediating, were the Directora Grl.de Trabajo and the Jefe Grl. de Inspección. The Government representatives appeared surprised by the council's claim that their own legal advice was that they could do nothing to help the lifeguards, and gave the council five days to find a solution before the Government itself intervenes. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
Not only the mediation meeting yesterday, but as I posted, the council meeting had been shifted to coincide with it to try to avoid the lifeguards' protest. It didn't work, as is now evident.
While the council has been given five days, in the council meeting itself, a new contract has been awarded to yet another business to run the lifeguard service. The would-be contractor, Rescatador, has a fortnight to decide if it is to accept the poisoned chalice. The Ayuntamient's decision was taken in the council meeting yesterday morning, which saw accusations flying back and forth between governing party and opposition, with the governing faction claiming the opposition was seeking to damage Arona's reputation, and the opposition claiming that the governing faction were corrupt. The governing faction's response, given by Environment councillor and effectively second-in-command in Arona, Antonio Sosa, was, in a nutshell "prove it". JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
The lifeguards have had a second meeting with the Dept of Employment, together with union representatives and Arona environment councillor, Antonio Sosa. The regional government has ruled that it will intervene in the dispute, and a solution has been proposed, namely that the Ayuntamiento should appoint a contractor without the new business assuming existing debts (i.e. the embargo of some €600,000) and for the Ayuntamiento itself to settle the seven months of outstanding wages plus social security contributions for the lifeguards. It should be clear by Monday how the Ayuntamiento reacts to this. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-go-on-hunger-strike-in-despair-over-6-months-of-unpaid-wages.html)
There'll be a few happy lifeguards when that hits their bank accounts.
About bloody time as well!
Except that it's only been proposed so far, the Ayto. has to agree yet, right Janet?
Quote from: Nova on Thu 7 Mar 2013, 22:56
Except that it's only been proposed so far, the Ayto. has to agree yet, right Janet?
They will do what they are told. For the good of the "family".
yes, Nova, and yes, Prof, I agree ..... I hope they do indeed do as they're told.
So everybody will finaly get payed.
Lets hope funds are ready and they get it soon . . . . .
Next wil be then appointing a new company with brown envelopes to run the lifeguards ( back to step 1 ) .
Quote from: poker on Fri 8 Mar 2013, 06:06
So everybody will finaly get payed.
Lets hope funds are ready and they get it soon . . . . .
Next wil be then appointing a new company with brown envelopes to run the lifeguards ( back to step 1 ) .
Maybe they could use the money from renting the sunbeds in Las Vistas. :kc045:
not the extra ones, surely ... ?? :k1:
:laugh:
Do have a look at the political blog Blancahari (http://blancahari.com/2013/03/18/alerta-por-desparrame-de-sosa-caustica-contra-los-socorristas-y-las-playas/) (click the name) ... even if it needs to be run through Google translate the gist will be there. Seven months of non-payments; official lies; over 5,000 signatures on a petition; complaints to the Town hall; critical reports in the local, national and foreign media; an alert for exposed pipes in Las Vistas beach; department of employment mediation itself saying the Ayuntamiento should pay the lifeguards; the apparent disappearance of Arona's blue flags ... ! Shame appears to be the only weapon left. Please use it and spread the word of what Arona is doing to its own best assets – best touristic and human assets ... JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/socorristas-semana-santa-2013-490-x-276.jpg)
Let's spare a thought this Easter for the Arona lifeguards, now 8 months into a forced work-to-rule for no pay whatsoever, and with no apparent solution in sight. The above picture shows how beautiful the coastline is, but it is also dangerous for the 10,000 or so visitors who are spending the Easter weekend there. With virtually no equipment, nor vehicles, and seemingly abandoned by their true employers (however much the Council might deny the responsibility), these lifesavers are still there. Show them some support if you can, and spare them a thought. If there's anything to the Easter message it is that of sacrifice and salvation. Who does more, these days, and in Arona especially, to sacrifice and save than the lifeguards themselves. Without getting all religious, who is more entitled right now to say "my god why have you forsaken me". JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
The lifeguards have tonight issued the following statement:
QuoteThe Arona Rescue and Lifeguard Service, with a team of 18, has decided by a majority to limit the service and the strike to Playa de las Vistas, where the lifeguard base is located.
From tomorrow, there will be no lifeguard cover at El Camisón or Los Cristianos beaches, in addition to there being no vehicles and so no roaming patrols between Costa del Silencio and Playa Troya. There will also be no disabled bathroom facilities either.
Please present any complaints by phone to Arona Ayuntamiento on 010, or in person at any of the Atención al Ciudadano "SAC" offices. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience, but after eight months of official abandonment, and 18 lifeguards working without pay since July 2012, we hope you will appreciate our position, and thank you in advance for your understanding.
If all goes well, I will be on Radio Sur Adeje (click HERE (http://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Sur-Adeje-1079-s2875/)to listen online) in the English slot between 1 and 1.30 talking to Clio O'Flynn about the lifeguards situation. :tiphat:
Can you get her to record it like last time?
she does every one, I think ...
Quote from: Janet on Mon 1 Apr 2013, 11:30
she does every one, I think ...
Hope so. I'm getting an error message on the live thingee. :undecided:
yeah, me too ...
go HERE (http://radiosuradeje.blogspot.com.es/), and click the player top right .... see if that works. Now thought to be speaking to me towards the end of the programme, so around 20 past 1.
Also dealing with El Hierro, interviews with people there.
Quote from: Janet on Mon 1 Apr 2013, 12:44
yeah, me too ...
go HERE (http://radiosuradeje.blogspot.com.es/), and click the player top right .... see if that works. Now thought to be speaking to me towards the end of the programme, so around 20 past 1.
Also dealing with El Hierro, interviews with people there.
Got it. Thanks. :tiphat:
The fourth mediation meeting took place this morning and I wish I could post something positive but I cannot. Despite Trabajo criticising the lack of coordination in the municipality, and putting various options on the table, the local authority dismissed them all as not viable. Both Trabajo and municipality are to make further submissions within ten days ... and meanwhile the lifeguards are left high and dry. In a further sinister turn, it seems that Arona Policía Local are to report on whether the municipal police can take over the service, those of them with lifesaving qualifications, of course. Where that would leave the lifeguards does not take much imagination. It doesn't take too much imagination, either, to wonder where that leaves the public who use the beaches and whose lives are at risk in the sea.
Meanwhile, Marjan from Balú Bar-restaurant in San Telmo, Los Cristianos, is arranging for customers to drop off food at the bar to be handed over to the lifeguards, and to Sebastian the Dog, on Saturday 13 April. Marjan says that after the hand over, the lifeguards and their families are invited to a free meal and drinks at Balú Bar. There is some human kindness after all, even if it's apparently not to be found in the Ayuntamiento. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/Captura23.jpg)
Still cannot fathom how this can be allowed to go on like this. You'd think at the very least the kids of those councillors would be asking Mommy and Daddy what was going on and why. Surely there is no one in the area unaware of the situation.
Has anyone thought of taking these bastards to the European Court Of Human Rights?
Quote from: Janet on Mon 1 Apr 2013, 10:48
If all goes well, I will be on Radio Sur Adeje (click HERE (http://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Sur-Adeje-1079-s2875/)to listen online) in the English slot between 1 and 1.30 talking to Clio O'Flynn about the lifeguards situation. :tiphat:
Did it happen? There's no sign of it being posted on here or your site :017:
Yes, it did, and I'm on a promise from Clio that I'll get told when it's recorded and uploaded. As soon as I have a link, I'll post it, and if Nova is willing, she might be able to do the same as last time, and just clip the bit that's me speaking about the lifeguards.
I don't know what their thoughts are about taking this further, really. I imagine the problem will be finding a lawyer who'd take their case up without requiring much of a fee. At the moment, they're still in "mediation" ... for all the bloody good that's doing.
TV Canarias will have another report on the lifeguards tomorrow morning live on TV, on the Buenos Días Canarias programme from 8.30am.
Still no recording from Radio Adeje Sur, sorry ...
Mystery today surrounds an article in El Día quoting the concejal de Medio Ambiente, Antonio Sosa, as saying that Arona Ayuntamiento will assume responsibility for lifeguard provision on the municipality's beaches in the interim period until a new contractor is appointed. Sr Sosa also said, it seems, that he is seeking a formula to pay the lifeguards outstanding arrears. The Ayuntamiento, it appears, is simultaneously working towards getting the lifeguards their money, and appointing a new company to take over the whole socorrista service in Arona.
We can only hope that this is, in fact, true, and, if true, that it will bear fruit in the very near future. It seems a shame, however, that no-one thought to keep the lifeguards informed, because Veronica says that she had no knowledge of this at all, and that she was surprised to read it in the paper. The lifeguards' position is that since the Ayuntamiento emphatically dismissed this option at the last mediation meeting, they are unconvinced by the article, not least because the council has shown by its very actions that they are not prepared to "assume responsibility". Veronica herself sums the situation up in three points:
1.-Antonio Sosa has been taking the mickey since last summer, and today's news is nothing more than one more such lie.
2.-The council's lack of interest in meeting the lifeguards, or even offering basic provisions, shows a lack of respect, and moreover to come up with such a solution – which they could have come up with a year and a half ago - and then only in the press, shames the council.
3. – Given the objections of the technical, legal and administrative departments of Arona Ayuntamiento we are now suspicious that they have now supposedly come up with this solution. We hope the report is correct, and that we are paid right now what is owing, and that they put our vehicles and supplies in order. We hope that they don't forget about us and get rid of us – as was implied at the last meeting by the suggestion that the local police might take over the service.
Meanwhile, Sr Sosa says the blue flag and disability awards are the welcome result of Arona's attempts at a provision of excellence, and that the acquisition of them was never a priority in and of itself. One can't help but wonder whether he is preparing the ground for the loss of these prestigious recognitions. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/balu-socorristas-480-x-270.jpg)
Well done Balú! As I posted on 2 April, Marjan from Balú bar was arranging for customers to drop off food at the bar to be handed over to the lifeguards, and to Sebastian the Dog. The drop off was yesterday ... and the above photo shows the results. Well done to everyone concerned.
The lifeguards have released the following request: I've just translated it, otherwise it's verbatim.
QuoteHello resident, neighbour or visitor of Arona.This is a message in protest and as a request for help and cooperation.
Please call 010, Arona Council's attention line, and make a complaint: other numbers are 922 761 600 or, from abroad, 0034 922 761 600. The municipal lifeguard service is responsible for security, assistance and lifesaving along the Arona coastline from Playa Troya to Costa del Silencio: Playa Honda, Punta del Cabezo, Playa Camisón, Playa Las Vistas, Los Cristianos Beach, Tarajales Beach, Palm Mar, Las Galletas ... to Montaña Amarilla in Costa del Silencio.
The lifeguards in this service have not been paid for 9 months, and have been working to rule providing a minimum service for nearly 6 months. For one month now, they have been providing lifeguard cover only in Playa de las Vistas, and even that without any emergency vehicles or equipment. In this time, they have resuscitated nine people, six during the period of the strike, and two just in this month of April. They have reported the situation to all the relevant public organizations, inspectors, security and emergency, and the Department of Employment, including Arona Ayuntamiento itself, the last which is the only one responsible for this situation. Still there is no solution. There are 18 people working just so that they don't lose their jobs and their employment rights even though they haven't been paid for nine months.
WE ASK FOR YOUR HELP. PLEASE! CALL OR GO TO THE CITIZEN ATTENTION OFFICE (SAC) OR LOCAL POLICE STATION WITHIN ARONA AND MAKE A DENUNCIA.
RESCUE THE ARONA RESCUERS!
YOU OR A FAMILY MEMBER MIGHT NEED THEM!
MANY OF THEM HAVE NOW BEEN LIVING FOR 5 MONTHS ON DONATIONS FROM TOURISTS. 8 HOURS A DAY ON THE LAS VISTAS PROMENADE. AND THE POLICE ALLOW IT! It seems to be due to lack of denucias too.
This is prohibited by Arona bylaws!
Moreover, PLEASE ALSO DENOUNCE ARONA'S EVACUATION AND EMERGENCY PLAN – IT IS NOW A LONG TIME SINCE IT WAS UPDATED!
We do not want to have to grieve over any tragedies.
Please pass this on. Call 010 or go to the local police within Arona and make a complaint. If outside Arona, call 922 761 600. If outside Spain, call 0034 922 761 600.
Make a denuncia. Help us. Help yourselves!
Thank you.
It looks like very good news for the lifeguards today. I am still to get full details, but can say for the moment that they have won a judgment on one of the lawsuits they had lodged. This was filed only on the 16th, so the judgment has been very rapid. It applies only to one of the 18 lifeguards, but it is understood that it refers "to the same case" as the others, whose lawsuits are yet to be heard. More as soon as I have it. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
It was Veronica's own case that was judged on Tuesday, and that judgment came from the Juzgado Laboral itself in Santa Cruz. The Court found that Arona Ayuntamiento is indeed responsible for her salary, and as I said on 30 April, this will almost inevitably apply as well to all her colleagues when their cases come before the Court. Oh dear, Arona ... JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
Sorry to put the dampers on this Janet. But I think we all know that having a judgement is one thing but getting the money is a completely different matter. I have two family members and a friend who have judgements in their favour and two are still waiting for payment after two years. The other one is only six months old so she has a long wait.
Did the judge embargo any council property do we know?
no info on that, G, I'm afraid ... but there are 17 more of these judgments coming, and I would imagine little love lost between the Courts and an Ayuntamiento shafting workers ...
Quote from: Janet on Thu 2 May 2013, 19:43
no info on that, G, I'm afraid ... but there are 17 more of these judgments coming, and I would imagine little love lost between the Courts and an Ayuntamiento shafting workers ...
I'm trying to remember what happened to my brother in law (I don't want to trouble him by asking). He won the first case. His employer pleaded poverty. So next court hearing was to see why. Thats when the judge embargoes ALL the employers business property. I might be wrong but this meant that any money generated by the closed business , sale of assets, buildings, machinery, stock etc. went straight to the court administrators and then on to the workers that hadn't been paid. But even with that in place he still hasn't received a penny.
I know I'm being a bit doom and gloom, but I do hope the life guards get paid.
The lifeguards are still without their money, and today have arrived at work to find that the Las Vistas station has been burgled overnight. Seven walkie-talkies have been taken along with their control central, 2 defibrilators have gone, 10 rescue tubes ...
Seriously???? What sort of screwed up bastards would do that??? :gonnagetit:
Playa de las Vistas was the only beach in Arona with lifeguard service, but now after the burglary the other day they have no medical supplies, no walkie-talkies, no walkie-talkie control central, no defibrilators, no rescue tubes ... . A black flag is now flying. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/black-flag-las-vistas-459-x-612.jpg)
If caught, the thieves should be charged with manslaughter as that's what their crime will amount to.
well there is a school of thought that ... um ... they are being driven away from work so as to obviate their right to wages ....
Boy that is one screwed up council.
That was my first thought Janet! Most of the stuff stolen would be of little use to anyone so the re sale value would not be great, if in fact they could find anyone to buy it. Its fairly specific stuff and no doubt would stand out if offered to any second hand shops.
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/10052_509077575812696_593986922_n-490-x-276.jpg)
The council has taken down all the protest banners and notices overnight. Most people might think it would be better to be more concerned about sending people to replace supplies of what was stolen, or preparing a defence for the Caso Arona ... where the other day some 20-odd senior Arona Ayuntamiento officials had their corruption case trials confirmed and their appeals rejected.
With the leading Arona political class in the dock for corruption, and with the municipality's beaches having neither blue flags nor lifeguards any more, and with the one remaining safe beach having had all its supplies stolen ... the council thinks the most important thing is removing placards. And of course, it's a violation of the constitutional right to peaceful protest. A violation of the rights of people? In Arona? Surely not .....
As the lifeguards say, if you take down two placards, we'll put up four.
JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
Quote from: Janet on Sat 8 Jun 2013, 10:33
As the lifeguards say, if you take down two placards, we'll put up four.
JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
Right on! :clap:
All the media coverage so far over the past ten months has been Canarian. Now, though, it's national. The video below is of a slot this morning on TVE1, the equivalent of the UK's BBC1, and draws attention apart from anything else to Arona's loss of three blue flags. It ends with the presenter saying that they'd tried – several times – to get someone from Arona Ayuntamiento on the programme ... but that there didn't seem to be anyone available ... . Now maybe the national shame will have some effect. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
http://youtu.be/dYlvcV0uvFw
The British Government has now updated its travel advice to include the situation on Arona beaches. It's the top alert on the Foreign Office's advice page for Spain (see HERE (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain)), above even pickpocketing and balconing. What a shameful situation. How sad that shame seems to be the last thing that can be felt in Arona. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/aronas-playa-de-las-vistas-now-has-reserved-section-for-paying-customers-only.html)
And now the FO advice has been picked up by the Canarian Press. Diario de Avisos HERE (http://www.diariodeavisos.com/2013/08/gobierno-britanico-alerta-falta-socorristas-en-playas/)has given a half page today to report on it. On the paper version (you can't see in the online version), there's also a big red "down" arrow to a photo of Mayor Niño for his failure to resolve the matter. He had his knuckles rapped yesterday by the Cabildo for the bad publicity he is creating. They are said to be "very annoyed at the coverage". In Arona's case, I can think of several adjectives, but "annoyed" isn't top of the list. "Ashamed" might be, or "humiliated", or "disgraced" ...
JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/protest-march-call-25-aug-arona-lifeguards.jpg)
It's a year now. A year without wages, and a year in which Arona has lost whatever shred of reputation it might still have had for good governance – and for decency, for that matter. And a year in which, now, Britain's own Foreign Office is advising people that Arona is a dangerous location because of the state of its beaches.
In honour of the anniversary, the lifeguards have posted a call on their Facebook page HERE (https://www.facebook.com/SocorristasArona) for support for a protest march to mark the event on 25 August. They say they would very much appreciate a physical show of support in terms of numbers on the march to match the support they have clearly had from the public over the last year. If the turnout is anything like that suggested by the response on Facebook, it will be another day of shame for the Ayuntamiento.
The march will depart from Playa de los Cristianos a week on Sunday at 5pm, go via Playa de Las Vistas and end in Playa del Camisón. Meanwhile, Arona Ayuntamiento asks "for time" to sort the problem out, and says "it's working" on it ... and waiting for a "confirmed verdict" from the Courts. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
The lifeguards are reporting that they have been informed by text message to their phones that their social security contributions have been deregistered. To add insult to injury, the text message was sent from the Social Security department without any prior warning to the lifeguards from Arona Ayuntamiento. Even worse, to rub salt into the wound, the message advises them that the "baja" (deregistration) dates from 14 June. The message ends by advising them to make an appointment if they want an explanation.
It was a while ago now that I called this post "the shaming of an entire municipality". Even calling it that I did not anticipate this level of cowardice, of shamelessness, or of brutality. Arona now officially has no Surveillance and Rescue Service on any beach. Where the lifeguards go from here I don't know, but whether they can contemplate continuing to work in the hope of back wages when they have essentially been "disemployed", is anyone's guess. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
[attach=1]
The lifeguards have issued the following press release – click on the thumbnail above to see it in full size in the original Spanish. Point number 5 is the new, and to my mind, most stunning, information:
Quote1. The squad of Arona lifeguards has received, as of 24 October, confirmation of their social security deregistration by the social security authorities (TGSS (http://www.seg-social.es/Internet_1/LaSeguridadSocial/Quienessomos/TesoreriaGeneraldel29408/index.htm)), as a result of reports by the TGSS itself that Sport&Salvament S.L.U. has not traded since 14 June 2013. Accordingly, the TGSS has acted on its own account so that the business' social security debt should not increase.
2. We have been on indefinite strike since 9 November due to our salaries remaining unpaid by the business and/or the Ayuntamiento of Arona, complying with the legal requirement to provide 50% minimum services in Playa de las Vistas, Los Cristianos and El Camisón.
3. The social security deregistration violates a constitutional right, the right to strike, given that it offers protection in a case of unconstitutional dismissal. We will therefore be taking it up with the Government's mediation and arbitration service (SEMAC) as well as initiating legal proceedings in the Courts.
4. This situation has caused great uncertainty among the lifeguards. So many of our rights have been violated that what has happened on these beaches is unprecedented. We remain unpaid, have not been laid off, have been disrespected, but still required to provide lifeguard services.
5. The local police, who have been confirming since 1 August that we are indeed providing the required minimal services, have told us this weekend that we are to be dismissed by municipal order which they will probably deliver some time this week.
6. We have insisted, fruitlessly, to the environment councillor, Antonio Sosa, on the need to resolve this confict for the security of Arona's coastline, to which end we have submitted to required arbitration, but it has been deemed "anti-regulation" to arbitrate a conflict once legal action has already been undertaken. We have replied that 2013's outstanding wages are not the subject of such action, and that they could be ring-fenced if the council agreed to arbitration.
7. Meanwhile, we continue providing lifeguard services to the Arona coastline. We consider that the administrations' failures in their own respects do not give us the right to fail in our own duty, with enough reputations already in the gutter.
JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/arona-lifeguards-the-shaming-of-an-entire-municipality-update.html)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/locks-500-x-375.jpg)
(http://www.janetanscombe.com/wp-content/uploads/locks2-500-x-375.jpg)
Arona has locked the lifeguards out of their base station and changed the locks so that they cannot get access to what minimal vital equipment and supplies they have been utilising whilst providing minimum services. They are now no longer able even to comply with the legal requirement to provide those services, which means that Arona has made it impossible for them to maintain their right to outstanding wages.
Above are a couple of photos: the first is of the locks being changed, and the second is of the policía local accompanying the locksmisths, which confirms the lifeguards' assertion that this was a council operation. I do not wish misfortune on anyone but I hope that if anyone drowns in Arona they will take the strongest legal action against the council. Criminal neglicence might do it ... JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/no-more-minimum-service-in-arona-as-council-locks-lifeguards-out-of-station-and-changes-locks.html)
It beggars belief.
Disgusting!
I don't even begin to understand the vagaries of Spanish employment law................. or Spanish law full stop.
Sadly it has to be said that even with the courts behind them, the government behind them and the people behind them they still don't seem to be any futher forward than they were on day one. There must come a time when one has to say this battle is lost. I am all for a fight, but there comes a point when one has to face the facts and move on. They are now unemployed they are owed wages but it Spain that's nothing new, there are tens of thousands in the same boat. Employed by bastards and denied by bastards. I pains me and I know I won't be popular but its time to move on with their lives. Life is not fair.
The story is today in Diario de Avisos (http://www.diariodeavisos.com/2014/01/contrataran-socorristas-de-urgencia-mientras-licitan-nuevo-servicio/), with the paper reporting the council trying to employ "emergency lifeguards" while the process to award the contract for the service is still undergoing. As the paper says, Arona's environment councillor, Antonio Sosa, has announced that the council is looking to contract two or three lifeguards for a few months. Let's just repeat that. The council is looking to contract two or three lifeguards ...
This is the council that said it had nothing to do with contracting lifeguards or beach services, that it was completely illegal to pay the existing lifeguards their back pay because the council never employed lifeguards, and that a new contractor had to be in place before the council could employ lifeguards ...
So there you have it. There's a job going working for Arona Ayuntamiento as a lifeguard. Any takers? This is farce. Except no-one's laughing. JA (http://www.janetanscombe.com/news/no-more-minimum-service-in-arona-as-council-locks-lifeguards-out-of-station-and-changes-locks.html)
The Ayuntamiento seems to be laughing!!!! Its time like this it wish I was spritual so I would believe in Karma. But unfortunatly I'm not and bastards rarely get their just desserts and crime does pay.
They need to start jailing the bastards .... like Malaga ...
Arona already has the name "Canarian Malaga". Maybe when they start copying Malaga and putting them inside it will have some effect ... but don't hold your breath.