Calvià lifeguard strike planned for Mallorca beaches
Lifeguards in Calvià, Mallorca, have called a strike for Sunday, 23 August, over what their union says is the council’s failure to address service shortcomings and working conditions on the municipality’s beaches. The Unió de Socorristas de Calvià said the action followed unsuccessful efforts to negotiate improvements.
The union has raised concerns about deteriorated watchtowers, limited lifeguard coverage during the year and within daily shifts, and communication faults that can force staff to use personal mobile phones to trigger emergency procedures. It also reports recurring errors in wage payments.
Accessibility and staffing concerns
According to the lifeguards’ union, only four of Calvià’s 11 beaches provide bathing access for people with reduced mobility. It says these shortcomings, alongside equipment and communications problems, affect both the service provided to beach users and employees’ working conditions.
Calvià Council criticised the timing of the planned stoppage, describing a strike on a weekend expected to bring heavy beach attendance as irresponsible. It said its governing team had met weeks earlier with four lifeguards working on Calvià’s beaches this summer, adding that the union has no legal representative authority over the remaining staff.
Council points to contractor on pay
The council said it was willing to examine and introduce improvements identified in the occupational-risk report prepared by the service contractor. It said most of the measures were recommendations concerning safety and employment conditions, while any pay improvements must be settled with the contracted company rather than the administration.
The union, meanwhile, accused the council of failing to attend a Wednesday meeting at the Balearic Arbitration and Mediation Tribunal, known as Tamib, intended to seek an agreement before the strike. It said the absence showed a lack of political will by mayor Juan Antonio Amengual to resolve the dispute during the high season.
Topics: Strikes · Jobs & labour · Politics · Calvià
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com