What are the workers at El Corte Inglés demanding?

In recent months, the demands of El Corte Inglés workers have dominated the headlines due to the demonstrations and protests that have taken place, but what are they demanding? Why are they protesting? In this article, we analyse what is happening.

What are El Corte Inglés workers demanding?

El Corte Inglés workers have been protesting and making demands for a year, mainly for several reasons:

• They currently receive payment for Sundays and public holidays included in their salary (which is usually the minimum wage) and want to be paid separately for these days. They also demand that working on Sundays and public holidays be voluntary and not compulsory.
• In addition, the collective agreement regulates the possibility of working 10 hours a day on Sundays and public holidays, which goes against any possibility of achieving a work-life balance.
• Workers receive a fixed salary plus a sales incentive, but some workers do not receive this incentive, such as cashiers and stockers. Therefore, it is demanded that these workers also receive an incentive for their work.
• The collective agreement also allows for irregular working hours, so that, on occasions, when sales are low, the working week may be around 37 hours, but in periods of higher sales, it can reach 60 hours, with several consecutive days of 10-hour shifts.
• This is a company that is making profits year after year, but wages remain minimal and employees have no social benefits. What is being demanded is an increase in wages.
• Furthermore, it is claimed that the minimum rest period between shifts is not being respected. In fact, the Labour Inspectorate carried out an inspection and found that the company repeatedly failed to comply with the minimum rest period between shifts, specifically during Christmas 2023.
• The excessive workload experienced by workers, which they are complaining about, is due to two basic factors:
  o Over the last few years, the company's workforce has been reduced by around 20,000 people.
  o In some departments, employees have to serve customers in the physical shop and deal with orders received online.
• In relation to the above, in some cases there are sick leaves and absences that are not covered, which increases the workload for workers.
• Another complaint relates to non-compliance with occupational risk prevention regulations.

What has the company done?

The company's management has been pressured by the protests and has announced changes that have not yet been finalised in terms of timing. It has also carried out a psychosocial risk assessment, which had not been done since 2018.

There are three main findings from the assessment:

• Some employees suffer from excessive workloads due to long working hours and working on Sundays and public holidays.
• Salaries are insufficient.
• Working hours must be improved to promote work-life balance.

The company has proposed a schedule of improvements from 2026 to 2030, but the trade unions have rejected it because they consider some improvements to be urgent.

Protests are also taking place against brands such as IKEA and Carrefour

The job insecurity reported by El Corte Inglés employees also affects workers at other department stores such as Alcampo, Carrefour, Ikea and Makro.

Protests by the staff of these companies occur mainly during periods such as Christmas or the sales, when the workload increases, and extend to several autonomous communities such as Madrid, Castile and León, Catalonia and Galicia.

Regulation of the Workers' Statute and the collective agreement for department stores

In relation to the above, it is important to see what the applicable collective agreement and the Workers' Statute say:

Regulation of working hours and rest periods between shifts

According to the Workers' Statute, working hours shall be as agreed in collective agreements or employment contracts, and the normal working week shall be 40 hours of actual work. Collective agreements may establish an irregular distribution of working hours throughout the year.

Furthermore, according to the Workers' Statute, there must be a minimum of 12 hours between the end of one working day and the start of the next.

The collective agreement for department stores establishes that the maximum annual working hours shall be 1,770 hours. The distribution of working hours shall be determined at company level.

Recording working hours

With regard to recording working hours, the ET establishes the following in section 9 of article 34:

9. The company shall ensure that working hours are recorded on a daily basis, including the specific start and end times of each worker's working day, without prejudice to the flexible working hours established in this article.

This record of working hours shall be organised and documented through collective bargaining or a company agreement or, failing that, by decision of the employer after consultation with the legal representatives of the workers in the company.

The company shall keep the records referred to in this provision for four years and they shall remain available to workers, their legal representatives and the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate.

In various media outlets, trade unions have stated that El Corte Inglés has refused to hand over the working time records and when they do so, it takes a year.

As we have seen, this is an ongoing dispute that may take some time to resolve. The latest protest by workers took place in January, and it is likely that further demonstrations will be called.

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