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The La Semilla de Oro bakery in Coín in Malaga provice is at the centre of a scandal after using a derogatory word, ‘maricón’ (faggot) on the identification of the bank operation of payment of an employee’s salary slip, according to the CGT union. The union also pointed out that the worker received his salary payment late. "It should have been received, at the latest, in the first five days of May," the union said.
The bakery employee told the union, as well as his legal advisor, "the shameful situation and the humiliation that the actions of his employers caused him". Since the company found out about his sexual orientation, according to the union, it had tried to upset him by changing shifts, working hours and "making his life impossible". "This led to a medical leave resulting from sexual discrimination," Miguel Montenegro, secretary general of the CGT, declared.
The complainant alleged that his working hours, which started at 10pm, were brought forward to 8pm when his employer found out about his sexual orientation, and although he reported it to the labour inspectorate, nothing could be done at the time. In addition, he also claimed that he was not paid overtime or holidays.
The CGT announced that it has already launched legal proceedings for violation of fundamental rights through its legal team, as well as "a boycott campaign" against this bakery through social media and protests at the doors of the establishment. "These attitudes of homophobia and persecution cannot be condoned in a state governed by the rule of law", say the union. However, they do not yet have a date for the start of these protests, as they are awaiting authorisation from the subdelegation of the government.
The owner of the bakery, who this newspaper has tried to contact without success, did appear on the television programme Hoy en Día, on Canal Sur, yesterday where he expressed his surprise at the worker's complaint. The businessman replied to the CGT's allegations, saying that he has not changed his timetable and that he has known about his sexual orientation since he started working with him. "Nobody has had a problem. I have four lesbians working in the company and absolutely nothing happens. I totally respect that. Everyone can do what they want with their bodies," he said.
Referring to the appearance of the derogatory word (maricón) on the bank statement of the payroll, the businessman attributed it to an "error by the bank". "Do you think I'm going to ask the bank to write this," he said on Cadena Ser, where he also referred to the employee's sick leave: "I can't remember if it was three or four months ago. He got paid that day, and in the afternoon he sent me a WhatsApp saying that he was on sick leave due to a disorder. And to this day I have never spoken to him again. Nothing."
According to his testimony, he had already asked for the employee's phone number to apologise. The owner explained that the employee had been working at the bakery for about a year and that he had been off work for four months: "I have been paying him his salary. Every month," he concluded.
Casos tan vergonzosos como este hay todavía muchos en los trabajos.
— Yolanda Díaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) May 23, 2024
La Inspección de Trabajo ya está actuando. No vamos a parar hasta garantizar la igualdad de las personas LGTBI en el trabajo. https://t.co/3lZTSanhQh
After learning of the case, Spain's minister of labour, Yolanda Díaz, said that "there are still many shameful cases like this in the workplace". She also quoted on her social network X a message from Rubén Sánchez of Facua, who also echoed the CGT union's complaint, adding that "the labour inspectorate is already taking action".
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