The employment situation of employees of the Puy du Fou leisure park in Toledo has reached the Castile-La Mancha Labor Inspectorate, which has opened an investigation following complaints filed by the CCOO and UGT unions. A private worker also filed a complaint and this week inspectors visited the park, as confirmed by elDiario.es.
This park is located in the municipality of Toledo and employs more than 600 people. It recently received approval from the Government of Castile-La Mancha to pave the way for a new modification of the document that at the time granted it the status of Project of Singular Interest (PSI). In addition to the shows it now offers, the promotion company wishes to open hotels, at least three, which complete its offer. It follows the model of the parent company in France. The modification of the PSI is currently in the process of public information.
This would be the ninth change to the initial project of the park and the executive of Emiliano García-Page supports it, arguing that “having more hotel beds means decreasing the profitability of tourist apartments and obtaining a reduction in rental prices.” In addition, the regional president himself did not rule out the possibility of organizing the Regional Crafts Fair within the park.
In 2021, the Council mobilized European aid of 17.8 million for Puy du Fou thanks to a grant from the FEDER Fund from the Ministry of Finance to support the park’s investment project. It represents support for almost 20% of the initial investment presented of 93 million euros to create 423 jobs.
However, on issues related to working conditions denounced by unions and workers, the regional government avoids commenting. “As this is an open procedure, we are not evaluating the issue,” say the sources consulted at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Employment. They will not do it, they say, “out of respect for procedures”.
That same year, the Spanish government, through an agreement from the Delegated Government Commission for Economic Affairs (CDGAE) and an order from the Ministry of Finance, approved the granting of regional incentives to a total of 102 projects in ten autonomous communities. One of them went to Puy du Fou, which received more than nine million euros with the aim of maintaining and creating jobs.
As elDiario.es tells us in its investigative series on Puy du Fou, the artists must take turns cleaning the interior of Puy du Fou. planning and they report suffering sprains, bruises and anxiety attacks at work, among other injuries. There is no doctor or ambulance, but there is a team of around twenty nurses, as the workers explained to elDiario.es.
The Town Hall avoids speaking out even though it subsidizes taxes on parks
The local government of Toledo also does not wish to comment on this matter. This Thursday, the spokesperson for municipal councilor Juanjo Alcalde, in statements to Toledodiario.es, said he did not have information on this situation. “We do not intervene in the labor relations of a private company and its workers. The unions are there, if there is a problem, they will have to resolve it between themselves, between the unions and the company,” says the advisor to Finance and European Funds.
And yet, since Puy du Fou opened its doors in 2019, Toledo City Hall has applied various tax credits to the company that manages it, linked precisely to the promotion of employment. In addition, since the start of the work, it has benefited annually from an 85% bonus from the Tax on Constructions, Installations and Works (ICIO).
In 2019, the value of the initial share reached 17 million euros, of which approximately 673,000 euros of this tax would have to be paid, which would ultimately amount to 108,512 euros. Around 564,000 euros less thanks to the bonus. This was approved by the previous PSOE government. Under the current legislature, the PP and Vox gave the green light in 2023 to subsidize the Economic Activities Tax in Puy du Fou at 50% for the creation of jobs in the city, a measure which had the support of all the municipal groups – PSOE, PP and Vox. – except for IU-Podemos.
CCOO and UGT, two complaints before the Labor Inspectorate
Those who commented on the Labor Inspectorate’s initiative are the UGT and CCOO unions. Both have been denouncing the situation for months. The general secretary of the UGT Pepe Álvarez had already spoken of “abuse” last August during a visit to the leisure park and demanded that the company open a negotiation table. This union later filed a labor complaint.
Ana González, general secretary of the Federation of Services, Mobility and Consumption of the UGT Castilla-La Mancha, hopes that the Labor Inspectorate will make a request so that the company “stops not complying with current legislation” and that it “requires them to have a real signature, which cannot be manipulated. In statements to elDiarioclm.es, González appreciates that the organization was “very fast” in acting on the Toledo company, and hopes that it will have the same speed when presenting the request.
The staff, he explains, are “at the service of Puy du Fou 24/7”. “They come in at 10 a.m. and have intervals of an hour and a half, two hours between shows. They are paid per show and cannot leave the park, which is how they are kept in case they need to replace someone. From 10 a.m. until closing, twelve hours,” specifies the union leader. He demands that he “respect the legislation” and “stop having 750 workers on partial contracts. The gift you should give is to chip in and pay for all the hours you owe workers. This is the first gift they should give them.
Furthermore, he warns that the park “must respect measures to prevent professional risks”. “It’s not just that they don’t have medical care, but they fight with swords that are not props, they perform in water, burn themselves or jump up to 10 meters high,” says González. . These types of conditions mean that at “any moment” something “very serious” could happen, while “they have no doctor or ambulance in case they have to run out of there.”
On the other hand, he asked the Park to “remove the silica” which exists in the form of sand in “certain shows”, because it presents a risk of falling, and also because “its dust is carcinogenic”. “It’s something they breathe in all day.” It’s the “Christmas present” that Puy du Fou is asking for.
“From the UGT, we of course want companies to come to Castile-La Mancha, but we all have to be very vigilant, administration and unions, about the type of companies that come to the region, with what type of contracts and know how they manage. working relationships with workers, men and women. We want companies, of course, but with quality and safe work, and whose rights are not called into question,” warns González.
Staff required to clean common areas
The CCOO union also filed another complaint with the Labor Inspectorate last October. Mamen Trujillo, advisor to the Federation of Social Services of Toledo, points out that the measures that were implemented were thanks to the fact that a works council started working, and that aspects were then reported, such as cleaning the toilets which needed to be resolved. “We had to report it because we found that the problem was not resolved or at least not as we understood,” he explains. CCOO reported to the Labor Inspectorate that staff were “obligated” to clean common areas, bathrooms “etc.” “.
“We had to report it because the problem was not resolved, or at least as we understood it. » And, Trujillo emphasizes, the workers must do it once their activity is finished, staying an extra half hour in the park to clean up. “Also, bathrooms and common areas are not as clean as they should be, because there are no qualified staff for this task,” he emphasizes. After filing the complaint with the Labor Inspectorate, what should be required, explains the trade unionist, is that the work is carried out by qualified personnel and as many times as necessary.
“The company has proposed cleaning every fortnight and we consider that this is not feasible in areas where hundreds of workers pass through every day. This should be daily,” he emphasizes.
On the other hand, Trujillo appreciates that the company talks about “family” when talking about its workers, that everything is “perfect and wonderful,” but in the end, he says, “this is not like that.” “Everything is moving very slowly. There are many requests we have every day and some are being resolved, but it is expensive. Any improvement we have achieved is the result of many struggles,” says the CCOO union member. “It doesn’t seem like a big deal to us.”
