The Labor Inspectorate has confirmed that the Grup La Pau cooperative owes a good part of the extraordinary summer salaries to contract ambulance drivers of the Basque Health Service (Osakidetza). Concretely, the Catalan company manages the urgent service (yellow vehicles) and the regular service (blue and white) both in Biscay and Alava and has around 1,700 employees in Euskadi. The facts received the first assessment of “serious” misconduct.
According to the documentation to which this newspaper had access, the Labor Inspectorate “demanded” that Grup La Pau “proceeds with the payment of the extraordinary bonuses corresponding to the month of July 2024” in their entirety before November 15. This is not yet a sanction, but it is a very relevant warning. And Grup La Pau accumulates two dozen labor violations in one year and, as the latest report on summer salaries reminds us, several of them are precisely linked to late payment of salaries.
Concretely, three files from 2023 and as many from 2024 are mentioned for “late payment of salaries”. One of the cases was described as a “very serious” offense. The UGT union wanted to avoid the renewal of the regular service contract because regulations prevent sanctioned companies from receiving public awards. He managed to stop the contract for a few months and have it reviewed; but, finally, Osakidetza reaffirmed his confidence in La Pau and even underlined its “solvency” and “reliability”. This happened at the end of July, when it had already become public that the surcharge had not been paid. A few days later, however, we learned that Health will impose a fine of one million euros for non-compliance with the conditions of service until October of the previous year.
The company itself has been giving clues for months about its very delicate economic situation. Leaders blame this on strikes and absenteeism, as well as vehicle sabotage. They also publicly emphasized that salary delays were a matter of “days” and isolated events. What do the staff think? Union sources indicate that the debt accumulated since July with the extraordinary pay represents 75% of its amount. And there is no shortage of them: “There are workers who received their August pay this week or temporary workers who have had debts since February. Who will pay for this party? The anxiety of knowing whether you will be paid or not is very high in the job market.
Meanwhile, two weeks ago, internal sources announced that Grup La Pau intends to renounce contracts in Euskadi, that is, it no longer plans to continue managing the scheduled and urgent medical transport in Biscay and Alava (Ambulances Gipuzkoa manages this territory). The company has officially categorically denied this, although the sources consulted insist that Osakidetza is holding ongoing meetings with the sector to determine the extent of this possible crisis.
The central LSB-USO, in light of the events, communicated by letter to the Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, to the Minister of Health, Alberto Martínez, and to the Vice Minister, Lorea Bilbao, that it would resume a calendar of “mobilizations “. .” “It is unacceptable that the continuity of a company is allowed that repeatedly does not respect the social and salary obligations included in the Collective Agreement of the Health Transport Sector of Euskadi. We demand that immediate measures be taken to ensure that workers receive their full salaries, without further delays or excuses,” reads the letter to which the new violation confirmed by the Labor Inspectorate is attached.
And they continue: “Not only is there a violation of the working conditions of workers. We can categorically state that the medical transport service is not provided by the dealer on several occasions. Today we can assure that emergency intervention in the territories where this company operates is not guaranteed, which represents a serious risk to public health and endangers the lives of citizens. “This situation is absolutely intolerable and requires an urgent and forceful response from the Administration.”
