By Marina Chueca Badías

SITUATION

The cleaning industry in Spain employs more than 450,000 people and accounts for 1.05% of GDP. The sector represents 9% of the 5 million employees under the country’s building service and facility maintenance umbrella.

Among the main challenges facing the industry are the constant labor reforms being planned by the Spanish government. The difficulty lies in attracting workers to a sector with a lack of generational replacement; excessive unfair competition resulting in a loss of quality, undervaluation of the activity, and absenteeism — which in our industry translates to 10%, leading to a loss of productivity and competitiveness.

For industry leaders, this problem is causing economic losses in addition to logistical and organizational difficulties. This situation generates instability in hundreds of companies and thousands of workers, but it will also worsen the quality of public services because many of the tenders will be deserted due to their lack of profitability.

In Spain, one battle we have been fighting for several years is to change the Law of Economic De-indexation, so that companies contracting with public administrations can pass on, in the contracts being executed, the increases in business costs that have been occurring in recent years. 

The administration has increased the cost derived from the IMW (Interprofesional Minimum Wage) for its contractor companies by about 50% since 2018, all without revising the price, and many of them are also locked into multi-year contracts.

We are in favor of generating a favorable framework for workers in which they feel recognized and economically valued, and in which they can comfortably meet their economic obligations. That is why we have supported the Spanish Confederation of Business Organization’s (CEOE's) backing of a 3% wage increase. However, what seems to us abusive is the unilateral increase of 5%, which will only swell the ranks of the unemployed.

However, the increase in the IMW is not something that affects Madrid companies operating exclusively in our region, since the Collective Bargaining Agreement reached in Madrid is above the IMW. Not surprisingly, it does affect companies in other communities — specifically in 26 Spanish provinces where the sectoral agreements were below the IMW.

Another of our major demands is the issue of subrogation in contracts, after a Supreme Court decision assumed the basis of a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which states that, in the case of a succession of contracts, the new employer must assume the debts that the outgoing company has incurred with the Tax Agency, the Social Security, and the workers themselves.

HIGHLIGHTS

ASOCIACIONES, FEDERACIONES Y EMPRESAS DE LIMPIEZA NACIONALES SPAIN (AFELIN) has participated in major issues that have helped to improve the sector as a whole in Spain. Among them, it is worth highlighting the implementation of the Professional Cleaning Card, a document we promoted in 2016 that guarantees the quality and professionalism of those who provide services and provides confidence to our clients.

Also, in a sphere that no longer concerns not only the worker but the company as well, we have participated in the creation of the ROEL, Official Registry of Cleaning Companies, an instrument that guarantees the transparency and professionalism of the companies and ensures compliance with aspects such as the qualification of workers, machinery, methodology, or product in order to avoid unfair competition and improve the image of the companies and their institutional recognition.

These two issues provide the sector as a whole with a series of values such as safety, trust, quality, and professionalism, which reinforce the image of our companies in society.

In line with this aspect, I have also been committed from the beginning of my mandate to helping the sector acquire relevance and visibility in the public sphere and in the media. We are an industry that often goes unnoticed or that stands out only when something negative comes up, so my motivation has always been just the opposite: to highlight to the public all that we are doing well.

CHALLENGES

We must continue to raise visibility towards the cleaning industry in Spain and globally, as it is undoubtedly a strategic and vital part of the value chain across all industries, that helps to maintain a clean and healthy environment. This activity is essential for other sectors to be able to provide their services with confidence and safety , including nurseries, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, airports, restaurants, offices, factories, stores, shopping centers, and each and every one of the different industries that make up our economy.

During the pandemic, we achieved a remarkable improvement and many people perceived the importance of our activity, so the challenge now is to continue to nurture that image.

Doing so will allow us not only to ensure that our services are valued by our clients, but also to attract workers to our sector, since companies currently have real difficulties in finding serious, reliable, and committed personnel. Among the objectives are to make visible, represent and defend the interests of the industry before the Public Administrations, and towork together with the central administration on the main regulatory challenges that affect the building service and facility maintance industry in Spain and throughout the European Union.

REFLECTION

From a business and socio-economic standpoint, Spain is enduring turbulent times, with many changes and legislative requirements that demand numerous efforts from businesses; therefore, being part of an association or organization that watches over and defends the interests of companies is more necessary than ever. 

Belonging to international organizations such as WFBSC brings us closer to global realities, which enriches us as individual businessmen and businesswomen and the industry as a whole. The steps we take in Spain and that we make visible through AFELIN contribute to our industry being properly valued, since cleaning is an essential service and plays a crucial role in the creation of a safe environment.