Home care assistance service in Mijas faces threat of strike
The industrial action has been called for 6 August in view of the continuing delay in the payment of workers' salaries
The home care assistance service in Mijas could come to a standstill due to the consistent delay in the payment of workers' salaries. The company in charge of the 128 employees is BCM Gestión de Servicios. It was contracted by the town hall to provide this service to 600 people.
The payment delays allegedly started in May. In July, the workers' committee announced that it will call a strike if the salaries are not paid on 5 August - the date set in the collective agreement. In June and July, payments came on the 11th and the 12th of the month, respectively.
Prior to the strike, the workers will rally on 24 July, in front of the social services headquarters.
The payment delays, however, are part of a chain of events - the town hall has acknowledged that it pays BCM Gestión de Servicios "later than it should".
Minimum services
Home care for dependent people is considered an essential service, subject to the application of minimum service requirements during strikes. Since the company and workers couldn't agree on what that minimum service should be, the regional government will now decide.
Based on previous conflicts in the sector, the service will be evaluated based on the degree of dependency - with 100% minimum service level required for those with major dependency (effectively preventing strike action for those cases) and between 40% and 60% for users with lower levels of dependency.
