Job opening in Gibraltar

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We got this from Karen Bourke, who asked us to put it up - no, let me rephrase: to put it on CampoPulse. Of course! Our readers need jobs, too. (And maybe ITMS would like to advertise their services here, too?) Come to think of it, we once had a Job Board on JimenaPulse - any thoughts on renewing it?

Floating hotel recruitment day is tomorrow

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle) Owners of the Sunborn Gibraltar floating hotel are “gearing up for a Recruitment Open Day” this Thursday May 30, where, they say, “up to 200 permanent roles are available for local candidates.”The roles the company need to fill vary in range and skill, and include overall managing director, PA to the managing director, head of human resources, head of administration, food and beverage manager, front office manager, waiting staff, housekeeping staff, shop assistants, reservation agents, bar staff, cooks, sommeliers and various maintenance and trade staff.>>>

Another Spanish law ignored: employment for the disabled

(Illustration only)

SPAIN The Spanish Constitution says that there should be equality of opportunity among all Spaniards. And the Law of Integration of the Disabled of 1982 supposedly obliges businesses with 50 or more employees to employ people with some disability at a minimum of 2% of its payroll, classified as such. However, organizations defending the rights of the disabled say that this is very far from the reality, which is becoming increasingly noticeable during the present financial crisis and its inevitable cutbacks. They say that the list of businesses ignoring Article 38 of the Law has grown immeasurably>>>

Brain Drain is 'External Mobility', says Minister

(Image: www.noticiassin.com)

MADRID In a typically political euphemism, Employment Minister Fátima Báñez recently referred to the 'external mobility' of young employables who are leaving Spain in relative droves for jobs in other parts of Europe. This used to be called 'brain drain'. Whatever the name, Báñez has admitted that a good many people, mainly university graduates, have left this country to seek better employment opportunities for work or study elsewhere - not surprising with unemployment among the critical 18 to 25 group at over 57%. According to the minister, there is some balance to the figures: in 2012 17,300 young people left Spain, but there were a lot of foreigners coming into the country. She pointed out that there are 30,000  Germans, 40,000 from the UK and 60,000 Italians here. "What we want,">>>

Iberia and unions reach agreement: strike off

Iberia on the ground
(Photo: planespotters.net)

MADRID Iberia, the airline that belongs to IAG (International Airlines Group) together with British Airways, has reached an agreement with the main unions, who have called of the strike that had been scheduled for Easter, one of the year's busiest times. The proposal to call off the strike came from the mediator in the otherwise bitter negotiations, Gregorio Tudela. So far, the number of redundancies proposed by IAG has been reduced from 3,807 to 3,141. The unions entered the negotiations last year in the belief that Iberia was about to be 'dismantled' by BA, which, in the medium term would not be entirely surprising for an airline that loses close to a million euros a day.

NH announces staff reductions at 38 hotels in Spain

Almenara Hotel, Sotogrande

MADRID / SOTOGRANDE The NH Hotels group yesterday presented its unions with EREs (Expediente de Regulación de Empleo, or 'provisional downsizing plans') that will impact 38 of its hotels in this country. The group owns Sotogrande S.A., as well as two major hotels inside that resort, the Almenara and the NH Sotogrande, plus the NH Algeciras Suites and the NH Campo de Gibraltar, and several on the Costa del Sol. There is no news as yet on which hotels will be affected, but negotiations with the unions are due to start on the 15th. The period for legal matters to be solved is thirty days, which means that redundancies may start around mid-April.>>>

Spanish Embassy in London opens employment website

LONDON The Spanish Embassy in London recently opened a website with information for Spanish people now living in the UK, but also for those in Spain who might want to move to there to find employment. It lists companies seeking employees, as well as useful advice on interviewing, and several how-tos: banking procedures, registering for social security, rental procedures, etc. The UK has become one of the preferred destinations for a new generation of Spanish emigrants with plenty of qualifications -many are university students- in the 25 to 35 age bracket. The Spanish Consulate in London says there are some 71,000 Spanish citizens living in Britain, a significant increase owing to the crisis. Ambassador Federico Trillo says that if the experiment is successful, it may be applied at other embassies through the world. He and other embassy staff are quick to point out that the website is not aimed at encouraging emigration; the labour market there is 'highly competitive' but there is 'only' a 7.8% unemployment rate, compared to Spain's 26%.

88.5% of lost jobs were Spanish workers'

Monument to Spanish frontier
workers, La Línea
(Photo: lalineadigital.es)

Picardo government often denied that stopped projects mainly impacted Spanish workers

GIBRALTAR Statistics issued by Government reveal that of the  total 998 jobs lost in the construction industry on the Rock between September 2011 and September 2012, 884 were held by Spanish nationals. Last year, there were 1,566 full time Spanish workers in the building trade, out of a total registered workers of 3,335. Of these, 1,121 were British. Twelve months later, the construction business had lost 998, for a total of 2,337 employed. While 884 Spaniards lost their jobs in that year, the number of British construction workers had risen by six to 1,127.  As local Spanish media says, Fabian Picardo's government has denied on several occasions that projects put on hold since the beginning of his mandate would mainly impact Spanish frontier workers.

Crisis in Spain highlights an increasing ‘employment divide’, says ILO

Demo in Seville, Saturday
(Photo: europapress.es)

The wave of social unrest that has recently hit Spain is a reflection of the growing rural/urban and north/south divide in the country.

GENEVA (ILO News) – Unemployment in Spain is rising faster in rural areas than in urban centres and is fuelling social unrest, according to the latest statistics produced by International Labour Organization’s International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS).  Unemployment in rural areas jumped from little over 8 per cent in 2007 to more than 26 per cent in 2012, while in urban areas it increased slightly less, from 7.8 per cent to 24 per cent over the same period. The national average is just under 25 per cent.  “The situation is particularly hard in the southern region of Andalucía, which already had high unemployment rates before the crisis. For example, in the provinces of Almería, Jaén and Granada, more than one-third of workers are unemployed,” said Steven Tobin, senior economist at the IILS.>>>

'I work in Gibraltar because I have English and German'

Elena González
(Photo: europasur.es)

GIBRALTAR We found this nice little piece on Europa Sur online last week. Elena González works at an online firm on the Rock. With family origins in San Martín del Tesorillo, she was brought up in Siegen, Germany, until she was 17, when she and her family returned to their native village. She went on to finish her studies locally and then got a degree in Journalism at the University of Málaga. She spent time in Canada and Austria to complete her studies, but decided to come back again and found her present position in Gibraltar. "I found the job because I speak German and English," says Elena. "Getting a job in Gibraltar gives you the chance to meet people from other countries and at the same time, to be close to the family." Her job in client service is exciting and demanding. "Languages are not well valued in Spain, so crossing the frontier every day is one of the unique things that are offered in this area," points out Elena González."

64% of Jimena's cork growers did not harvest

Orange groves also impacted by drought

JIMENA The municipality depends largely on its agriculture, a very large proportion of which is cork oak and citrus, both sectors which are in deep trouble. This naturally impacts the families that depend on the work in the groves and on the mountainsides. The summer cork harvest goes a long way to keeping food on the table of many for the rest of the year, and the same applies to the winter citrus harvest. But this year, according to the PSOE, which is asking for government subsidies to help out at this gruesome time, some 4,100 work days have been lost in the cork harvest alone because 64% of the municipality's growers have been unable to strip their trees because of the long hot summer that came after a very dry winter. Some 26 tons of cork remain on the trees this year. (See How did that cork get in your bottle?)

Citypeg warns of Spanish worker redundancies in Gibraltar public sector

Monument to Spanish workers
La Línea

Unite union accused of 'looking the other way'

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) One of the organizations that covers Spanish workers in Gibraltar, Círculo de Trabajadores y Pensionistas Españoles en Gibraltar (Citypeg), sent out a warning last week that the Rock's Labour Minister, former Chief Minister Joe Bossano, is aiming to fire Spanish workers now employed by the public works department. According to Citypeg, Bossano is intent on "changing a full-time, indefinite employment contract for one that lasts only 11 months, and which when it comes to an end, will not be renewed, thus leaving these Spaniards unemployed." The organization called this idea "discriminatory" and accused Unite, the local union, of "looking the other way." "We are not surprised by Unite's attitude while thgis is going on," said a spokesperson, who went on to add that the new Governemnt of Gibraltar is creating "an unsustainable situation that could unleash confrontation between the two peoples."

Tourism is still the largest employer in the province

Larger proportion of temporary contracts

CADIZ Tourism-related business is still one of the largest employers in Spain, especially in the summer season. This is no less true in the province of Cádiz. The second quarter of the year has seen a total of 33,454 contracts, up by 22.8% year on year. Of these, 4,579 are in the Campo de Gibraltar (13.6% of the province's total). Algeciras (1,799 people, +20.8%), Tarifa (986, +19.9%) and San Roque (669, + 11.1%) are in the top five municipalities with most tourism-related contracts. They are followed by La Línea (630 people), Los Barrios (427), Castellar (37) and Jimena (31). These figures are for total employment contracts, not exclusively new ones. The latter tend to be short-term, temporary or seasonal employment, so we can expect local unemployment numbers to rise again in September, when some sources say, a large number of bars and restaurants in the area may be closing.

Just a fistful of pounds after years of work

Monument to Spanish workers
La Línea

GIBRALTAR/LA LÍNEA Hundreds of Spaniards who have retired from working in Gibraltar are now having a very hard time of it thanks to the laws on the Rock, according to an article in Europa Sur. Their pensions are worth almost nothing, yet it is the same as that received by pensioners in Gibraltar, with one major difference: on the Rock, apparently, they get tax benefits and extras that allow them to live 'a dignified retirement'. But those who live in Spain are not entitled to that. On the Rock there is a Government fund called Community Care, says the article, access to which the two organizations that cover the Spanish pensioners, CITYPEG and ASCTEG, have been asking for years. It is a matter of equality that, say these organizations, 'only works one way'. The Spaniards have paid the same taxes and Social Security payments as their Gibraltarian counterparts, but do not get the same benefits.

For decades now, people on the Spanish side of the border, particularly from La Línea, have had to seek employment on the colony (a word used by all Spanish media, but more PC is British Overseas Territory) mainly in the service and catering industries, and also in construction. Pensions after working for private companies are considerably lower than those from Government, but all are much lower for those not living on the Rock.>>>

Unemployed to lose benefits with mere 'suspicion' of fraud

Fátima Báñez, Minister of Labour

SPAIN (El País) The government’s cutbacks in unemployment benefit payments have taken an Orwellian turn with the announcement that even a suspicion of fraud will be sufficient to suspend payments. As part of its latest austerity drive the Popular party government last week cut the payment of unemployment benefit from 60 to 50 percent of the salary earned previously after a person has been out of work for six months. Until now, a person suspected of defrauding the system - by working while claiming benefits - would lose the right to claim only if and when fraud was definitively proven. In some cases the loss of benefits is temporary; sometimes it is permanent. Under the new regulations, these sanctions can be imposed whether actual proof of wrongdoing is obtained or not. The Labor Ministry justified the decision by saying that this would increase its armory in the fight against fraud. But the labor unions decried the announcement as opening the door to “arbitrariness and the criminalization of the unemployed worker.”

Another reason Spain is in this mess: some salary and qualification comparisons in Spain

Spanish parliament (guardian.co.uk)

SPAIN (Original source: TioJimeno) We came across this article, have extended it, and added some commentary. We would appreciate your comments, too. Some of these salaries are increased with extra payments and overtime, and are here offered only as a guide; they are also starting salaries. As for the qualifications needed simply to apply, these are as close as we can come to the reality, and we have left them as they are in Spanish though they do have equivalents in other countries - with the exception of the so-called 'oposiciones', a test that requires vast preparation.>>>

Nice job if you can get it

Dr. Ricard Gutiérrez Martí

BARCELONA (Agencies) Ricard Gutiérrez Martí, was co-Managing Director of the Sant Pau hospital in Barcelona between 2001 and 2004. However, he continued to be paid his full salary -between €80,000 and €110,000 per year- for the following seven years. He was not made redundant until last year, when he received an additional indemnity od €158,569.63, according to the foundation that runs the hospital. Having worked a mere three years at the hospital, Gutiérrez Martí received a total of over one million euros.>>>

Government offers summer jobs for uni students

GIBRALTAR (Press Release) The Government of Gibraltar is offering university students the opportunity to enrol for a ‘summer job’ between 26th July and 24th September 2012 (or such earlier date as they may need to depart to university). Working hours will be 10.00 am to 2.00 pm (four hours daily), without a lunch break, 

Monday to Friday. Remuneration will be £120 per week (£6 per hour), free of tax and social insurance contributions. Opportunities exist within various government departments. Students wishing to avail themselves of this opportunity can register their interest by email at humanresources.recruitment@gibraltar.gov.gi or letter addressed to the Human Resources Department, 83-86 Harbour’s Walk, New Harbours, Rosia Road, stating 

whether they are familiar with the use of computers.

'Underground economy' quadruples in twenty years

SPAIN (Agencies) The number of people working in the 'underground economy' in Spain has quadrupled since 1980. A study by the Fundación de Cajas de Ahorros says that there were an estimated 1.4 million people doing so in 1980, and over 4 million in 2008 - the most recent figure, and well before the recession. The impact on tax revenue, according to the report, is between €30,845 million and €32,735 million per year during that period, which translates into between 5.4% and 5.6% of the country's official GDP. However, a closer percentage is about 17% of the real GDP. The increase in the 'submerged economy' for those twenty years parallels strong growth in the official, 'above board' economic activity. This last more than doubled, while the 'black economy' quadrupled. Regarding the four million 'under the counter' workers, it is perfectly possible that many of them would be working in both economies, as there is a certain tolerance of these activities in the country.

High-end geriatric centre proposed for Jimena

Jimena de la Frontera
(Photo lavinadelinan.com)

JIMENA (Agencies) The local secretary of the Partido Andalucista, José Antonio Castilla, said yesterday that he knew of a proposal for the construction of a high-end geriatric centre for Jimena, which could generate some 200 direct and indirect jobs. He intends to present the project -linked to parcels 1 and 2 at Las Tenerías - that includes four clearly differentiated green areas, as well as a hotel complex and all the equipment and accessories associated to a geriatric centre. Castilla says the interested party he knows about is German, which could in turn generate pension-age tourism from Germany. He will ask the Council to provide location facilities, basic German lessons and its intervention with the Los Alcornocales Nature Park authorities so that it can be declared an area of 'public interest'. While the interest in a Jimena location, says Castilla, stems from its closeness to golf courses, equestrian facilities, our benign climate and local gastronomy, the plans are for a project heavily linked to the environment, with the architecture blending in with the surroundings.