An 'in extremis' agreement brings peace to the Malaga hospitality industry hours before the Fair

The Malaga August Fair will be held without the shadow of a labor conflict. The unions and the hospitality employers, two hours after the demonstration called by the CCOO and UGT for this Friday, have reported an agreement to increase the remuneration of workers in stages until 2027.

These two organizations, together with the Association of Hotel Entrepreneurs of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) and the Association of Hoteliers of Malaga (Mahos), have issued a joint statement deeming peace to have been achieved in the sector in a few hours the start of the main celebration in the capital of Malaga.

The agreement is based on the extension of the validity of the current collective agreement for two more years and places its new expiration date on December 31, 2027. The text, however, includes a modification of the salary tables of the previous framework, which was marked by a downward revision of salaries conditioned by the covid pandemic. “Not in vain, there are currently more than 105,000 people registered, which represents a historical record and almost a third —31%— of the Andalusian total —341,095 workers—”.

Massive hospitality assembly.
Today at the Civic Center of #Málaga @ugtmalaga @ccoomalaga #SalarioOConflicto@UGT_Andalucia@UGTSPmalaga@ugtficamalaga@UGTfesmcmalaga@SoledadRuizSeg pic.twitter.com/j8JG3ZIOoK

— UGT MÁLAGA (@ugtmalaga) August 11, 2023

This collective agreement has been renegotiated on the basis of the previous one, which was agreed in October 2020, valid until December 2025. Therefore, the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, which had already been agreed, are revised upwards and two more are included: 2026 and 2027.

“The objective is to combine union demands with the protection of companies against possible excessive increases in this reference, as has happened in the last year”. In this sense, for 2023 a salary increase referenced to the real CPI has been set, but with a minimum of 2.5%, if it were lower, and a maximum of 3.7%, if it were higher..

For the years 2024 and 2025, a minimum increase of 2.5% and a maximum of 4% will be applied in each of them.. While, for 2026 and 2027, salary increases have been agreed on the immediately previous year of 2% at least and 3% at most.

The initial proposal of the unions was that of 4-3-3: an increase in payrolls of 4% this year, 3% in 2024 and another 3% in 2025. Therefore, the agreement reached is lower than expected for this year, but it may be higher in the following ones, all depending on the evolution of prices..

The new labor agreement for the sector brings peace and puts an end to the calendar of protests that the CCOO and UGT had announced this Thursday. The first demonstration was called for this Friday morning and was to end at the headquarters of the Confederation of Businessmen of Malaga (CEM). At midnight, a fair with large numbers will begin.

The general secretary of the CCOO Services union in Málaga, Lola Villalba, and the general secretary of the FsSMC of UGT Málaga, Antonio Solano, have considered that the agreement “is positive because it allows the sector to be given the necessary peace of mind and to recover some of the purchasing power lost”. Both have thanked the employer for “the effort to increase wages, just like the one that the workers have already made by freezing their salaries due to the covid”.

The president of Aehcos, José Luque, added that hotel businessmen “are aware of the wage freeze situation during the pandemic and the loss of purchasing power of our collaborators”.

Economic impact

The sealed text clears the August Fair of a possible generalized conflict. An event that represents a great economic boost for the city, which these days will receive hundreds of thousands of visitors. According to a survey carried out by the Unión de Consumidores de Málaga, seven out of 10 people from Málaga will attend this massive event for one or two days and the average budget to spend each day is 65.38 euros..

92.3% of the sample valued the August Fair positively. The main reasons are tradition —58.3%—, fun —58.3%— and family and social gatherings (50%). The small percentage of people who object to it —7.7%— alleges high prices, crowds and possible conflicts as the main reasons.

Asked about the aspects of the celebration that most concerned them, the people from Malaga surveyed highlighted safety —73.1%—, the upward trend in prices —65.4%—, the safety of the attractions (34.6%) , the loss of traditions —15.4%—, the tourist priority —11.5%— and the commercial vocation to the detriment of the cultural one —7.7%—.