Intersindical Canaria alleges favouritism over remote working at Betancuria Town Council and calls for equal treatment and compliance with the law

PRESS RELEASE FROM INTERSINDICAL CANARIA

Intersindical Canaria has publicly denounced the situation at Betancuria Town Council regarding the introduction of remote working. The union says this way of providing services is being applied arbitrarily, without the transparency, publicity, objectivity and equality safeguards that should govern the actions of every public administration.

According to information available to the union, the municipal plenary initially approved the Remote Working Regulations more than three months ago. However, to date the regulations have not been officially published, and there is no indication that their approval process has been completed or that they have entered into force under the legally established procedure.

Despite this, some public employees are reportedly already working remotely, while others have been denied that option. There is no public application procedure, no known objective criteria and no reasoned decisions to justify this different treatment.

Particularly concerning, the union says, is the fact that the secretary-controller herself is working remotely while the regulations remain unpublished in their final form, and the Town Council has not responded to the union’s requests for information about the legal basis for those authorisations.

Intersindical Canaria considers that this situation could breach the constitutional principles of equality, objectivity, transparency, legal certainty and full compliance with the law that must govern all public administrations. It also creates an evident sense of inequality among municipal staff.

The union also says the complete silence maintained by SEPCA is striking. SEPCA currently holds the majority representation on Betancuria Town Council’s Staff Committee. While employees see decisions being taken that directly affect their working conditions without proper transparency or equal opportunities, SEPCA has taken no public action to defend the workforce. Intersindical Canaria considers that this lack of response effectively enables the municipal administration’s actions and contributes to the gradual loss of employment rights and safeguards that should protect all public employees.

For all these reasons, Intersindical Canaria calls on Betancuria Town Council to:

The union also says it will continue to take all necessary union, administrative and legal action to ensure that municipal staff’s rights are respected and to prevent remote working from becoming a system of discretionary concessions rather than a way of providing services regulated in accordance with current legislation.

“Transparency, equality and respect for the law are not optional; they are obligations for every public administration. Likewise, trade union representatives have a duty to defend the rights of all employees, without exception. Remote working cannot depend on the mayor’s will or on discretionary decisions; it must be governed by clear rules, objective criteria and public procedures that guarantee equal opportunities for the entire workforce.”