“Excused unpaid absence”: Konecta rectifies after ‘punishing’ its employees for not going to work at DANA

Although in the event of a red notice from the AEMET you can not go to work if there is a risk to your health, as this newspaper details here before the DANA passes through Malaga, the largest company in contact center In Spain, Konecta had considered justified absences as unpaid for those employees who had reported their non-presence at the workplace that day, November 13, when the storm wreaked havoc in the capital and other parts of the province. . After the news came out through a statement from the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), the company has rectified with another statement in which they report that “no deductions have been made nor will be made in the payroll for the day corresponding to the red alert notice

“We manage the reported absence as an unpaid justified absence,” the telemarketing multinational responded to an employee who, working from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., formally reported her absence the next day. “The permit requested is not applicable since the worker will have the right to be absent from work due to force majeure when necessary for urgent family reasons related to family members or cohabitants, in the event of illness or accident that makes their immediate presence essential. ”Konecta argued in Friday’s communication to the employee, as this newspaper has verified.

According to the public complaint, the multinational had announced to the works council (eight of its nine members belong to the CGT) that it would deduct the absences that occurred that day from the payroll of its staff. The center of the telemarketing multinational is located in the Andalusia Technology Park, which is home to nearly 700 companies. Last Wednesday, the companies based in this enclave avoided travel as much as possible and organized their work “as in the pandemic.” “Today there were very few people at the PTA, the parking lots, always full, were practically empty,” he told The Opinion the president of the technopolis, Felipe Romera.

Different middle managers of the company would have informed the staff that they would not compensate for the absences from work last Wednesday, as revealed by the CGT organization. The telemarketing multinational, after warning of the measure, has also offered the possibility of recovering the hours not worked so that the sanctions are not carried out, according to CGT. The company has about 450 employees in the province of Mála who provide services for companies such as Iberia, Vueling, Emasa or Mapfre.

The company, consulted by this newspaper, has sent a statement to the media this Monday morning in which it assures that its “priority has always been the protection and well-being” of its workers and that, in this specific case , “no deductions have been made nor will there be made in the payroll for the day corresponding to the red alert notice.” “From the first moment we have taken the necessary measures to guarantee the safety of all our employees in the affected areas,” they add, detailing that “for those campaigns that allowed it, teleworking was enabled as an immediate solution” and “for those who could not attend their positions or carry out their work remotely, it was communicated that their absences would be fully justified, guaranteeing that they would have no financial repercussions.”

The day before the DANA passed through Malaga, the AEMET had already activated the red warning due to heavy rainfall that could reach 200 liters per square meter. When the notice was orange, CGT had already sent “several requests” for Konecta to take “urgent measures” such as choosing to telework that day. “Once the level was raised to red, the idea was insisted that the safety of the staff had to be guaranteed. However, the company maintained absolute silence, and none of the communications issued by the legal representatives of the workers were attended to,” the organization denounced.

Konecta, despite everything, “continued to open its doors, although many chose to stay home so as not to put their safety and lives at risk. The recklessness was such that, at noon, when the EMT had already paralyzed all its bus lines, and when the Campanillas River was about to overflow, the company decided to proceed to activate the evacuation of those present,” CGT reported regarding to DANA day.

CGT had launched a written claim campaign so that affected workers could claim payment of the corresponding amounts under article 21 of the Occupational Risk Prevention Law, which considers that “in case of serious danger , imminent and inevitable, those who work can interrupt their activity” without suffering any harm.

The works council, reports CGT, has reported “numerous irregularities in terms of prevention, occupational health and breaches of the law in matters of hiring, payroll, etc., many of which have already ended with requirements and sanctions by the Labor Inspection”.