The hot sands of southern Gran Canaria, where the tourism and construction industries blend in an inextricable embrace, are today the scene of one of those maneuvers that portray the soul of the most unbridled capitalism. The construction employers' association of Las Palmas, the Association of Construction and Development Entrepreneurs, has issued its challenge: 4.000 African workers must arrive on the island because, mind the euphemism, "no one wants to work here." A statement that sounds like a mockery when uttered from the offices that decide the future of Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés, or Puerto Rico.
The narrative is impeccable in its cynicism: a "desperate" 12% absenteeism rate that, according to employers, reduces the sector's turnover in the Canary Islands by 10%. And the solution, miraculously simple: bring in labor from abroad. From Latin America, yes, but the focus has been, and not coincidentally, on Africa. On the neighboring continent, where the need is pressing. But reality, that stubborn lady, belies the story. The unions, whose feet are on the job and not on the carpet, have denounced it ad nauseam: 90% of this "absenteeism" is justified sick leave and legally earned vacation time. Calling 0,1% unjustified absenteeism "desperate" is, quite simply, a crude manipulation. It's a theatrical setup to justify an operation that has little to do with a lack of personnel and everything to do with wage pressure.
Data from the Canary Islands Statistics Institute (ISTAC) for the first quarter of 2025 show that the unemployment rate in the Canary Islands stands at 13,53%. While employment in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has grown in the construction sector in the first months of 2025, with a year-on-year increase of 9,5% in April in the capital and a consolidation of the recovery, employers' associations ignore these global data, which indicate that there are indeed people looking for work. Although construction activity in the Canary Islands as a whole decreased by 9,5% in 2024 in terms of job offers, the narrative of a "lack of labor" does not fit with the unemployment figures or the increase in employment in the sector in the capital. The truth is that wages, working conditions, and precarious contracts are often the real reason why many, quite rightly, do not accept certain offers.
In southern Gran Canaria, where the construction industry has cyclically employed and expelled thousands, accusing local workers of laziness is an intolerable affront. The truth is that wages, working conditions, and precarious contracts are often the real reasons why many, quite rightly, refuse certain offers. Data from the Las Palmas Construction Labor Foundation, published just 24 hours after the employers' announcement, add another layer of sarcasm to the situation. In 2024, 5.357 professionals were trained. And yes, 27,8% (1.489 individuals) were foreigners, of whom 14,5% were from Africa. How can there be a labor shortage if so many are being trained, including foreigners?
The key lies in the profile of the "qualified" person: a man (87,9%) between 46 and 55 years old (27,7%) and, pay attention, employed (66,6%)! This tells us that the courses are for those already in the system, seeking to improve or retrain. They are not unemployed people who refuse work. The employers' association complains that it can't find labor, while its training programs cater to those already employed or seeking specific qualifications. What is being processed, in coordination with the Government Delegation, is the importation of workers for a sector desperately seeking to reduce costs. Construction in southern Gran Canaria, with its mammoth projects and constant renovations, has always demanded labor. But not at any price.
The "social peace" that employers and unions fear will be shattered not by the tale of absenteeism, but by the impunity with which they seek to depress labor costs. Bringing in 4.000 men from more vulnerable economies means, for big capital, a workforce that will accept lower wages and more precarious conditions, which, ultimately, is the unstated objective.
This operation, disguised as a "solution to the shortage," is in reality a strategy to discipline the local labor market and, if possible, further reduce production costs. The beneficiaries will be, as always, those at the top: the developers who build hotels and resorts along the coast, those who line their pockets with sun and sand, while the dignity of the Canarian worker is trampled by the narrative of laziness. And the south of Gran Canaria, the islands' tourist showcase, becomes the scene of a new chapter of exploitation, camouflaged under the need for construction. Let no one be fooled: the problem is not a lack of labor, but the ambition of a sector that prefers to seek labor on the African continent rather than dignify the labor it has at home.
