If we stick to the fiscal pressure, CPI and the price of money, the Kellys in the south of Gran Canaria charge almost the same as those in Turkey and that is without taking into account that as of January 1, 2024, the aid from the central government ends to the price of energy in homes. To begin with, the UN Human Development Index (HDI) in 2021 in the Canary Islands was 0,871 and that of Turkey was 0,838 points, that is, in this important indicator that analyzes health, education and income, the Canary Islands are, of course, exit, behind the Turkish market.
With the data that can be extracted from the intersection of salaries that exist in two tourist markets dominated by an offer largely outsourced in German hands and a star product associated with sun and sand. This alteration occurs, according to experts, because it is in Tenerife where the statistics are altered given that in the south of Gran Canaria the jobs in the sector have greater control by the authorities.
In 2018, the RIU chain made an extra-procedural agreement between CCOO, UGT and the Workers' Union Front to pay an extra 100 euros before the end of 2023 for its cleaning staff. No one has spoken about this agreement, that is, it is understood that it has been fulfilled. Turkey has in common with Gran Canaria sun and beach tourism with products such as all-inclusive and lower salaries given that it is tourism for middle-class families. Turkey has played with the advantage of its low salaries to attract tourism and that will change from 2024 because the escalation begins with the consequent increase in prices.
In a bungalow complex in the south of Gran Canaria, according to data from Kellys Gran Canaria, one could charge around 1.200 euros, in a 5-star hotel around 1.600, working 8 hours a day, five days a week, changing shifts, hour on Saturday or Sunday, which is paid the same as a weekday. The salary of the Turkish kellys will be 2023 euros per month before the end of 606,1, that is, 7.273 euros per year, taking into account that 12 annual payments are considered. Now, to get an idea of the contrasts: a kilo of potatoes in Turkey costs 0,60 cents in the Anatolian city and a 1,5-liter bottle of still water costs 0,26 euros. The average monthly net salary (after taxes) in Maspalomas is 1.500 euros per month, that is, +225,9% than in Anatolia, which is an area where sun and beach tourism predominates.
The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (DİSK) 2024 Minimum Wage Research Report on Wages in Tourism has been published and includes data from the Central Bank of Turkey using the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). According to research, 73 percent of staff working in the accommodation and food services sector in 2021 work on the minimum wage. According to the report, the largest number of staff working on minimum wages is in the tourism sector.
"Only 5% of the waitresses ever retire from their position: the others leave before they are exhausted," reveals Angelina Martín, delegate of the Maca Díaz Base Union, of the Kellys collective in Gran Canaria, pointing out that "we usually have 18 rooms a day but now, for example, that is multiplied by four because each room has four or five beds" and that "each room takes more time but they don't put more people in." Kellys in Gran Canaria has regretted that the president of Ashotel de Tenerife and of Cehat, Jorge Marichal, has blamed the level of absenteeism although the spokesperson for the Kellys responds: "we want decent contracts for decent work, we don't take sick leave to be on vacation but because we are sick."
The 2018 RIU pact is mandatory at the Riu Palmeras, Riu Palace Maspalomas, Riu Palace Oasis, Riu Palace Meloneras, Club Hotel Riu Gran Canaria, Riu Palace Tres Islas, Riu Palace Jandía, Riu Palace Paraíso Lanzarote Resort, Club hotels. Hotel Riu Oliva Beach, Club Hotel Riu Vistamar, Club Hotel Riu Papayas Flamingo and Hotel Calypso. Here You can read the collective agreement of the FEHT of Las Palmas 2023-2025.
