A lawyer acting on behalf of a group of workers employed by British facilities management company Mitie at Palma Son Sant Joan Airport has sent the multinational a letter which refers to an "unsustainable situation" due to poor management.
The letter states that employees are at their physical and mental limits, that there is an "unbearable" volume of work and a "hostile working environment". The lawyer, Nicolás Sosa, is awaiting a response from the company before, if necessary, taking it to court.
The spokesperson for the workers says that some employees who were dismissed only found out about their dismissals from a social security text message or by their removal from a WhatsApp group.
There are also references to "threats" and "eliminating personnel" and "unfavourable" reports from the National Police, Guardia Civil and the Aena airports authority.
Various working practices that have been denounced include workers allegedly being forced to do double or triple shifts without compensation for accumulated overtime and without respecting rest periods. There are said to have been cases of finishing one shift at midnight and starting the next at seven in the morning.
The company, which has a Spanish division, took over the management of services at the airport - passport control support, access and mobility of travellers - in November 2023. Reports of complaints about the company first surfaced in February; these were to do with non-payment of overtime and bonuses.