Labor Inspectorate opened Violation report to La Casa de las Carcasas for failing to provide a pregnant worker with a stool, forcing him to stay up during the working day. The resolution adopted by El Periódico de España from the Prensa Ibérica group also states: No measures were taken to “give breaks” during working hours.
Failure to comply with safety and health regulations in pregnant workers, very serious crime In LISOS (Law on Violations and Sanctions of the Social Order). Fines for such a range of violations Between 49,181 and 983,736 Euros. Under the consultancy of EPE, company advances the claims presented because it does not share the amount of fines or funds where it does not share the exact amount or appear in the decision.
Expert sources in labor law think that the fine is likely to be a minimum of €49,181 and will remain at €29,508 if the company realizes that it has committed the crime and pays it with an early payment discount. What the inspector dictated from La Casa de las Carcasas “completely unclear“, the workforce sources consulted remind that the Inspection version has an assumption of accuracy: that is, the facts disclosed are considered true unless proven otherwise.
A stool in the warehouse
The story of the pregnant woman who had to work standing up took place last summer in Zaragoza. At the end of April 2022, the store located in the Puerto Venecia shopping center reported that the worker was pregnant. The company requested a medical examination and two weeks later mutually sent a document on the working conditions.
In this certificate, the location of La Casa de las Carcasas was not without riskhowever, it has adopted two measures to adapt to its situation: a stool with a footrestconsultation with other employees to carry out and what they did not have until then program changes, so that the pregnant woman can work a split shift. His contract was 36 hours a week.
Inspection found that the stool did not reach the store until July 1, more than two months after the pregnancy was reported. And the company stated that instead of installing it behind the counter, but in a small warehouse three feet wide. “Therefore, if the worker had to sit down, he had to go to the aforementioned room, without scheduled breaks for it“, concludes the inspector. “The worker had to stand. [de pie] during the working day.
According to the worker’s decision, the company should allow the pregnant employee to sit as often as possible. On the other hand, he says, “there was no place to sit and rest at work.”
“They brought the battalion a few months after we requested it but in the end we had to report it as there was no way they could adapt it to the position. The company eventually does certain things, but including complaints“It values Claudia Olivares, the staff representative at the store. The company differs from anything approved by the Inspection. “The battalion took four days to arrive, and the order to place it in the warehouse was never given,” says Luis Huidobro, legal manager of La Casa de las Carcasas.
Finally, the worker went into a situation suspension of employment contract due to risk during pregnancy On September 15, 2022.
“We are sending gifts to pregnant women”
Standing work is not new in La Casa de las Carcasas. Since this newspaper has an extensive coverage of the company, stores have security cameras to check that vendors are following established protocols. “It’s true that there are cameras and you can’t sit down.you should always be ready to serve the customer, but I think the trick is to give your best attention”, a marketer at the time explained.
Ismael Villalobos, young Extremadura founder and CEO of La Casa de las Carcasas, told El Periódico de España by email that he was “saddened” by the Labor Inspection report. Villalobos emphasizes that they are objecting to the sanction and that the company has “hundreds of pregnant women a year” and sends them “all the time”. a gift in the form of congratulations“We have always chosen women,” he adds. “If you look at our chain of command, there are more women than men.”
According to the report in the latest accounts of Carcamóvil SL, under which the brand operates, there are thirty women and eight men in management positions. There are 90% workers in the store. As a result, the company accepts a 2% salary gap. The CEO said in an interview at El Español “bad experiences with the guys at the first store‘ and so she decided to ‘recruit only one gender.’ We chose the girls. And judging by how corporate parties are, it’s better to have just one sex in the stores…” he assured.
Union action in Zaragoza
Complaint and subsequent sanction of the Labor Inspectorate regarding the stool incident in Zaragoza, union action undertaken by several workers in the area.
Olivares, the manager of the La Venecia store, is “saddened” after three years at the company. “I worked more hours than my share and humiliation by a supervisor. “I normalized a lot of things, but I went to a union and they told me that this is not normal and that the best way to stop it is to have a staff representative.”
Olivares sought the elections, introducing himself as the CGT candidate, and won them as no one else appeared. “Company employees started calling and bringing us together. They said everything would change and said there was no need to choose. On the advice of the union and myself, I did not stop them,” he continues.
A few months later, the same process was applied at another store in Zaragoza. Concerning the rest of the provinces – La Casa de las Carcasas has more than 200 stores in Spain – the delegates of this city are aware that only in Malaga there is a union representation with representatives of the Workers’ Commissions. The CEO is “sorry” at not having the same “good relations” with the CGT as they have “with other unions in other communities”.
The CGT has filed several complaints. The first was due to the contract with which they were recruited: one from Extremadura, legally the employee was on the relevant contract in his home state. Several individual claims were made and the Labor Inspectorate urged the company to implement the correct contract. demands 23,000 euros for contributions that it stops entering Social Security.
Later, a collective dispute arose, in which CGT lost: the union thought that the metal collective agreement should be implemented (the store is dedicated to the wholesale trade of electronic equipment, and the salaries of this agreement are better), and the company argued that the right agreement was wrong. toy and bazaar trade. The first-instance court agreed with the company, although the union appealed the sentence.
The problem most cited by CGT reps who set up Instagram accounts to spread their progress is the constant change of working hours – “they change your shift ten times a month and sometimes they call you on your day off” – and “extensive control” over the template. “They can call you into the store and say you’re not in the right position. And the ‘check’ of sales is getting crazier. You almost have to force customers to buy,” they add.
This ‘check’ consists of ten steps that sellers must follow with all customers: they start by asking which model cell phone they are looking for a case for, glass screen cases, camera cases, accessories, promotion of the week, complementary products (chargers, batteries) and finally charging and offering loyalty. “If they send you a mystery shopper and you haven’t completed one of the steps, they may get your commissions back,” they add.
Alison Muñoz, a recently laid-off Chilean worker at La Casa de las Carcasas, summarizes the company’s formula for revenue of 80 million and profits of 12 million in 2021.
“A very feminized company, young women, many immigrants who depend on work permits to reside in Spain, new mothers, and students living alone,” she says. “They are all subject to constant schedule changes and work part-time. Everything we do is measured. Goals are unattainable and unfair commissions. It’s never enough: They seem to be unaware of this with the circumstances we have. can’t squeeze any more“.