The restaurants association that comes under the Pimem federation of small to medium-sized businesses is demanding that restaurants have their own agreement with unions on pay and conditions.
The collective bargaining agreements for the hospitality industry in Mallorca and the Balearics cover hotels, bars/restaurants and nightlife. The restaurant and club employers have called for separate agreements for years. In certain other regions, e.g. Madrid, there are separate agreements.
Under these agreements in the Balearics, pay for restaurants and nightlife is linked to the lowest band for the hotels (there are three pay bands), but when it comes to negotiations it is the hoteliers who drive them. As a consequence, the other sectors have had an historic grievance with the process.
The Pimem association is less influential than that which comes under CAEB (Confederation of Balearic Business Associations). The CAEB association has been prominent in stating that turnover has fallen this summer - 20% is the figure that has been quoted. As a new round of pay negotiations is due to take place, the statements from CAEB can perhaps be considered in this context.
Unions have been talking about an "historic" pay increase of above five per cent in 2025. The restaurants are alarmed at that prospect, the Pimem association president, Cesar Amable, pointing to three factors that have been harming business - a lack of qualified personnel, a fall in sales and a general increase in costs.
The association highlights the fact that pay has risen by 25% since 2018 because of collective bargaining agreements. The price of menus, it maintains, has risen by ten per cent over this period. "There is a huge gap between hotels and restaurants. It's fine for hotels to raise prices as much as they want, but there are many things that differentiate us."
Amable believes that the fall in revenue this season will probably result in an early closure of many businesses located in resort areas. If a single agreement persists, the restaurants face "a very bad future". The association feels that its members are being "strangled".