“Every evening I have to check the next day’s schedule when I get home because they’ve probably changed it.” An actor from Puy du Fou thus explains the volatility and instability of his schedules. A consultation that he carries out, without exception, at the end of each of his working days, which can last until after 11 p.m. “They usually share the planning a week before, but they are always subject to change,” comments this interpreter to elDiario.es, who prefers to remain anonymous.
This lack of control, as well as the “absence of registration” of hours worked, are two of the reasons – along with the non-compliance with the Workers’ Statute – for which the UGT Castilla-La Mancha denounced in the Labor Inspectorate of the theme park located in Toledo, dedicated to the history of Spain. This complaint is in addition to the one that CCOO filed two weeks ago against Puy du Fou for having forced the actors to sweep and scrub the toilets and changing rooms. The union alleged that artists’ responsibilities “do not include cleaning common areas.”
The park is organized around eleven shows which take place throughout the day (including passages and those including lunch or dinner in its restaurants), from opening at 11 a.m. to closing at 10:30 p.m., depending on the time of the season. The cast is divided between the different watchranging from Such a costume…which addresses the capitulation of Granada until the War of Independence; has Toledo’s dreamthe star number, which takes place at night, before the park closes.
The artists and ushers (called “green sleeves”) are distributed among themselves, so that there are some who only participate in one – which they perform two or three times on the same day -, or in several different numbers. The UGT denounced that the company “does not guarantee the daily recording of the day”, since “the document in which workers must note their hours is a sheet of paper which does not guarantee the reliability and infeasibility of the data “.
This newspaper contacted several of the artists and ushers who perform the shows that fill the park’s agenda, and they confirm that there is “only” this sheet on which they simply have them sign next to their name on the case of The dream of Toledo. There is no control over the rest. The union emphasizes that all of this has the consequence that employees – whose number amounts to more than 600 people – end up “exceeding the maximum ordinary daily hours” and the “annual overtime ceiling”.
In addition, they criticize the fact that there is “a total lack of remuneration, rest or recording on the payroll” of these overtime hours; not to mention that the company “does not systematically and knowingly respect rest periods between days”. From the park, questioned by elDiario.es, they did not want to make any statement on this subject.
Go to the gym, walk or sleep on a bench
This media outlet had access to several examples of planning which is sent to workers to inform them of what their days will be like. We see that – in addition to including the hours scheduled for cleaning in gray – this distribution of work generates long periods of breaks for which they are not paid. “Dead hours,” as they themselves define it, in which the options they have are “eat, stay in the dining room, go to the gym that some shows have, walk in the park, see the rest of the shows.” shows or, if we are tired, sleep on a bench.
The problem is that for those who don’t want to do more sports – the functions themselves require physical effort as there are choreographies, fights and battles, to name a few – and prefer to to rest ; They don’t have space to do that beyond the dining room. A room which, as they describe it, is “a little mediocre in terms of equipment, quite normal”. “There are colleagues who even lie down directly on mats and hammocks that we have hung ourselves,” one of the workers, who prefers not to reveal his identity, admits to elDiario.es. There are those who enjoy their own decoration watch improvise beds with bags and ropes.
“We have the freedom to do what we want in these spaces, but we are in the middle of nowhere and going back and forth takes a lot of time,” explains one of the interpreters. The theme park’s location, on the outskirts of Toledo, is the big handicap that makes it difficult to return home to eat or do another activity. Many of the staff live in Madrid, which is a 55-minute drive away – if there is one – so this is downright impractical for them. The alternative to public transport is the train, but there is no way to get to the park gates.
In fact, on the space’s website, the directions given to visitors to get there, which can apply to workers, are as follows: “We are only ten minutes from Toledo train station. You can access Puy du Fou by taxi. On the information page they include as an alternative for transfer to the plane, being the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, located “about an hour away”: “To get there you can come by taxi or car rental”.
Stops can exceed three hours. For their internal organization, the artists create their own boards, as this media has seen, with which to follow their schedules. As the images show, it can happen that a worker arrives at 11:30 a.m. and leaves at 8:00 p.m., completing eight and a half hours in the establishment, including 6 and a quarter hours worked – and billed – and 2 hours and 15 minutes of break – unpaid–.
As we can see from the schedules, another actor can be summoned at 12 p.m. and leave at 8:15 p.m. But of the 8 1/2 hours he spends in the park, only 5 hours and 15 minutes are counted as worked, while three are unpaid rest.
Short notice of schedules
The lack of notice with which workers are informed of their schedules and the fact that they are continually subject to change is compounded by the logistical complications of the park’s location. “Every day we have a planning different and they change it without warning,” laments a bailiff who testifies anonymously.
“The changes are due to park capacity. Depending on the tickets they estimate will sell, they establish a program. A Sunday when it is said that 3,000 people will attend, for example. If they suddenly sell more, they have to increase the store’s hours. planning to add more shows and bring everyone together. It may end up changing completely,” he explains. “It can happen that there are up to seven versions of the same schedule until the final version is reached. The park lives by and for the public, so that there are more of them and they earn more money,” explains another actor.
It can happen that there are up to seven versions of the same schedule until the final version is reached. The park lives by and for the public, so that there are more of them and they earn more money
A worker from Puy du Fou
Generally speaking, workers organize themselves to fill the cars of those who own them and, depending on each person’s entry times, offer more or fewer spaces and pick-up points. elDiario.es gained access to the WhatsApp group, called “Puy du cars Madrid”, which they use to distribute themselves. “The problem is that if I don’t know until the last minute which establishment I have to go to the next day, how am I going to know which establishment I have to go to in order to agree with my colleagues? “, says one of the actors, including one who has his own vehicle.
“A few weeks ago they created an application similar to BlaBlaCar, but of course we have been organizing for a long time,” he describes about a tool that they consider to have arrived late, beyond putting it back into practice. causes some of its functions like “rewarding a partner with a double ticket.” »
The UGT concludes in its complaint that the conditions applied are “discriminatory and marginalizing” for workers. And that everyone, because of their “precarious condition, is forced to accept these conditions for fear of consequences and reprisals”. A conclusion which permeates the reflections of his collaborators. “If they make you work 10 hours to get paid six or seven hours later, it shows that they don’t care about you, that it’s not worth it,” laments one of the actors, who continues to be part of the staff. .
