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Balearic Islands hotel staff go on strike
Laundry workers at the Spanish resorts will down tools from August 1
Holidaymakers visiting the Balearic Islands this summer may be left without fresh towels and clean sheets as around 1,500 laundry workers in hotels plan to go on strike from August 1 if their pay demands aren’t met.
Employers have already offered a 20 euro wage increase, which would bring salaries up to around 1103 euros per month, but the COOO Habitat Balearas union has roundly rejected this and the strike is set to begin at 7am next Tuesday unless a last-ditch agreement can be reached.
Holiday hotspot Ibiza shouldn’t be impacted since most of the laundry is done in-house, but CCOO general secretary Miguel Pardo has warned that the industrial action could prove a major blow to tourism in Mallorca and Menorca.
"It could be disastrous for tourism. It’s going to affect hotels full-on. There won’t be sheets or towels," he said, explaining that minimum cleaning services will have to be provided to essential facilities like hospitals first.
Mr Pardo claimed many staff are leaving to find better paying jobs with more favourable conditions; in addition to the salary increase, laundry workers are also demanding more rest time and extra pay for night shifts, as well as two consecutive days off per week.
The guaranteed two days off is a deal breaker, he added.
Last August, more than two million tourists visited the Balearic Islands, with Brits accounting for a massive 26% of total foreigner holidaymakers, just behind the Germans, who represented more than 28%. It’s currently the most visited region in Spain by non-national holidaymakers.
Image: Freepik
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