Salary, sweat, and silence: the hidden face of Hiperdino in southern Gran Canaria

In the south of Gran Canaria, where hotels gleam like gold teeth in the jaws of tourism, there is another world. One that doesn't appear in brochures or Instagram stories. There, between frozen food aisles and pinging checkouts in San Fernando, El Tablero, or Playa del Inglés, a reality harsher than bluefin tuna unfolds: the salaries and working conditions of the employees of Hiperdino, that giant of Canarian supermarkets, which moves more people than many municipalities but continues to treat its workers like voiceless peons.

In 2023, Dinosol (Hiperdino's parent company) closed the year with 9.636 employees, growing like someone who's gained weight without realizing it. More women than men (5.904 versus 3.732), more sweatshop workers than tie-wearing managers. But don't be fooled: gender hasn't served as an antidote to the pay gap. In senior management positions, the difference between what a man (€136.468) and a woman (€102.728) earn is abysmal: -32,84%. The numbers don't lie, but they are uncomfortable.

The bulk of the workforce in southern Gran Canaria falls into the category of "professionals and support staff" (more than 7.797 souls in 2023), those who carry, replenish, clean, and smile in green uniforms while life goes by. They are the majority, yet invisible. The majority of their contracts are permanent, yes—66,7% of the total—but many of them are part-time, and not by choice. The figures reveal this: 1.804 permanent part-time contracts, the majority held by women.

Some people will say that having a job is better than not having one, and they're right. But that refrain loses its force when you look at the average salary of department heads, those women who work their tails off in neighborhood butcher shops, fishmongers, and bakeries. A female bakery manager in a type E store—which isn't exactly Meloneras—earns €16.433 gross per year. Take away income tax and social security, add rent, babysitting, and a carton of milk at €1,35, and you'll understand why some smiles cost a fortune.

Layoffs have also increased. In 2023, 644 forced layoffs were recorded, 61% more than the previous year. Once again, the hardest hit: the youngest and those in the productive age group between 30 and 50. Coincidence or system? Take your pick. In offices, where air conditioning is always available and stress is disguised as PowerPoint presentations, things are different. There, salary bands play in a different league, and equity slips through the cracks of out-of-band salaries, where female executives continue to earn less, even when doing the same job. Merit? Talent? Or just old school cronyism?

In the paradise of endless beaches and hotels with wristbands, Hiperdino is omnipresent. But behind the promotions and well-placed fruit lies a silent army that sustains the structure with low wages, precarious contracts, and little real representation. And all with a smile, because in this southern part of Gran Canaria, quality work is scarce and the alternative is often nonexistent. That's how things are in southern Gran Canaria. In Hiperdino stores, the scales aren't always balanced. And while the numbers grow, the dignity of some seems to shrink like a uniform washed in hot water. All legal, all correct. But not all fair.