The Labor Inspectorate has opened an investigation at the Puy du Fou theme park, following complaints for non-compliance with the recording of timetables and Worker Status (filed by the UGT-Castilla La Mancha); and for forcing actors to clean bathrooms and changing rooms (presented by Comisiones Obreras). As elDiario.es learned, there has been a third complaint filed by a worker who prefers not to reveal his identity. “It can’t be the jungle,” he says of why he decided to take a step forward, just a month after starting work at the Toledo theme park. This newspaper learns that the Labor Inspectorate came this week to inspect the premises.
From there begins a process that could last months until it is determined whether the company should correct an irregularity, be sanctioned or continue operating as before without taking any action or changing its structure and operation. In the worker’s complaint, which he said is “more than twenty pages long,” he alluded to issues such as “economic conditions” and “dirtiness of the water where they are analyzed.” It smells like horses. “You put your hands in a place where there are animal fecal remains,” he points out.
The actor, in turn, highlighted the lack of “doctor and ambulance” and wardrobe problems: “We have boots that do yagas. I opted to apply Vaseline and wear non-slip mountain socks. No one provides you with something that won’t bite your feet. “Working there is like being in the army, but in the 15th century. The medieval theme park is so realistic that even the conditions of the workers are medieval,” explains the worker in conversation with elDiario.es.
While waiting to know more details on the specific case of Puy du Fou, the spokesperson for the Progressive Union of Labor Inspectors (UPIT) María José Díaz explains to this media what these types of investigations consist of. The member specifies that they can be launched without there having to be a complaint, “there may also be a campaign or an initiative” and that, once they go in the centers concerned, they have the power to investigate. beyond what has been reported.
Working at Puy du Fou is like being a soldier, but in the 15th century. The medieval theme park is so realistic that even the workers’ conditions are medieval
A worker from Puy du Fou
Among the issues on which the Labor Inspectorate has the power to investigate, the spokesperson cites “the prevention of professional risks, the duration of workers’ shifts, their salaries, working conditions, the exercise of other functions than those of the categories”. envisaged in the contracts, if it concerns registrations and immigration matters. From Puy du Fou, interviewed by elDiario.es, they did not want to make any statement on this subject.
Complaints from Puy du Fou workers
“The locker rooms and toilets are always full of shit, in disgusting conditions. They fill up with water and sand and, instead of hiring a crew, they have us do the cleaning within the company. planning”, one of the Puy du Fou actors told this newspaper about the state of the rooms where they change, shower and leave their belongings every day. “There are cobwebs in the corners,” was another complaint from workers.
The obligation to clean the two spaces motivated the workers’ commissions to report the theme park to the labor inspectorate last October. The union considers that artists’ responsibilities “do not include cleaning common areas”. In their press release, they explain that the company “has not resolved” this work problem which affects “around 600 people”. This newspaper contacted several of the star artists of the shows that make up the Puy du Fou calendar – who prefer to remain anonymous – and they confirmed that, even if “there is a cleanliness to what is visited and what is seen facing the public”, “no one” is responsible for the facilities they use.
These workers also confirmed the volatility and instability of their schedules. Their lack of control and the “absence of registration” of their working hours are two of the reasons – along with the non-compliance with the Workers’ Statute – why the UGT Castilla-La Mancha also denounced Puy du Fou. “The document in which workers must record their working hours is a sheet of paper that does not guarantee the reliability and invariability of the data,” they said.
We have boots that do yagas. I opted to apply Vaseline and wear non-slip mountain socks. No one provides you with something that doesn’t eat your feet
An actor from Puy du Fou reported to the Labor Inspectorate
elDiario.es has had access to several examples of planning which is sent to employees to inform them of what their days will be like. They show that 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 available to them are “eat, stay in the dining room, go to the gym during some shows, walk in the park , see the rest of the shows”. watch or, if we are tired, sleep on a bench. “There are colleagues who even lie down directly on mats and hammocks that we have hung ourselves,” describes one of them. Stops can exceed three hours.
The lack of notice with which they are informed of their schedules and the fact that they are subject to continuous changes, becomes even more serious due to the logistical complications linked to the location of the park. “Every day we have a planning different and they change it without warning,” they lamented. Another big problem facing Puy du Fou workers is injuries.
“The simplest thing is that something happens to you,” one of the actors explained to this media. Thus, the irregularities of the terrain, the darkness of the shows and the lack of security are some of the complications that the actors and ushers have asked to improve, in addition to implementing their health service. “We have no doctor or ambulance,” they emphasize, there is only a team of nurses and a physiotherapist.
If you have any stories or clues to share about this or other similar cases, you can write to us on our secure mailbox at pista@eldiario.es
