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Early on Monday morning this week, representatives from trade unions and employers actually shook hands. The handshake was witnessed by Andalucía's employment minister Rocío Blanco, who acted as mediator at the meeting and later presided over the signing of a new collective agreement for workers in retail business. In total, some 60,000 workers in the province will be covered by this framework that regulates employer-employee relations until 2028. This is the agreed period and it affects some 10,000 companies.
Among the points highlighted, the agreement improves conditions for workers employed in shops located in ZGATs (Zones of Great Tourist Influence). A ruling that seeks the opening of certain shops on public holidays and Sundays to meet the needs of tourists in those areas. In practice, this forced workers to turn up for work outside regular business hours. There are twelve ZGATs in the province, spread around Malaga city and other municipalities. In the new agreement the ruling will be that workers are informed clearly in advance about which public holidays or Sundays they have to work so that they can plan accordingly to balance work and family life.
Blanco stressed that this new collective agreement affects a business sector that is "a driving force in the generation of employment and wealth" in Andalucía and that it is "an essential part of our day-to-day life and key to the diversification of the local economy, in strengthening what we do across our region to retain a settled population and, in brief, in the life of our districts, towns and cities."
After emphasising that, despite the difficulties, it has been possible to reach a consensus on the text, the employment minister for Andalucía highlighted the contribution of the Andalusian Council for Labour Relations (CARL) in these negotiations. She gave her thanks to the figure who had presided over the negotiating committee for CARL, a role that, by agreement between the parties, fell to the Professor of Employment Law at the University of Malaga, Francisco Vila Tierno.
It was also pointed out that the text eliminates obsolete references to outdated working practices, including those related to gender issues and the wording has been adapted to each and every one of the regulatory reforms that have taken place in recent years such as the new types employment contract.
As for wages, the setting of the wage bands had already been done. Note that the previous agreement expired in 2019 but the parties found it difficult to sit down at the negotiation table. Therefore, the next wage update will be reviewed in 2026, as confirmed by Lola Villa (trade union negotiator for CCOO) to SUR.
"There are always things to improve because wages come up short in this trade, but a balanced agreement has been reached that gives stability to the sector," she told SUR. She also commented on the new regulation for Sunday working as a win for the workers.
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