The Labor Inspection has initiated an investigation at the Puy du Fou theme park, following complaints of non-compliance with time registration and the Workers’ Statute (filed by UGT-Castilla La Mancha); and for forcing actors to clean bathrooms and changing rooms (presented by Comisiones Obreras). As elDiario.es has learned, there was a third complaint by a worker who prefers not to reveal his identity. “This can’t be the jungle,” he says about the reason why he decided to take a step forward, just a month after starting to work at the theme park located in Toledo. This newspaper has learned that the Labor Inspection has come this week to inspect the premises.
From here begins a process that could last for months until it is determined whether the company has to correct any irregularity, be sanctioned or continue operating as before without taking any measures or modifying its structure and operation. In the worker’s complaint, which he says consists of “more than twenty pages,” he alluded to problems such as “the economic conditions” and “the dirtiness of the water where they are tested.” It smells like a horse. “You put your hands in a place where there are fecal remains of animals,” he points out.
The actor also pointed out the lack of “doctor and ambulance” and problems with the wardrobe: “We have boots that cause sores. I chose to apply Vaseline and wear non-slip mountain socks. Nobody provides you with something that doesn’t eat your feet.” “Working there is like it was the military, but in the 15th century. The medieval theme park is so realistic that even the conditions of the workers are medieval,” says the worker in conversation with elDiario.es.
While waiting to learn more details about the specific case of Puy du Fou, the spokesperson for the Progressive Union of Labor Inspectors (UPIT) María José Díaz explains to this medium what these types of investigations consist of. The member clarifies that they can be started without the need for there to have been a complaint, “it may also be that there is a campaign or initiative,” and that, once they go to the affected centers, they have the power to investigate beyond what there is. been reported.
Working in Puy du Fou is like being in the military, but in the 15th century. The medieval theme park is so realistic that even the conditions of the workers are medieval
A ‘Puy du Fou’ worker
Among the matters on which the Labor Inspection has the power to investigate, the spokesperson lists the “prevention of occupational risks, the length of workers’ shifts, their salaries, working conditions, whether functions are being carried out. other than those of the categories contemplated in the contracts, if they are registered and immigration issues.” From Puy du Fou, when asked by elDiario.es, they did not want to give any statement on the matter.
The complaints of the Puy du Fou workers
“The locker rooms and bathrooms are always full of shit, in disgusting conditions. They fill with water and sand and, instead of hiring a team, they make us do cleaning shifts within the planning”, one of the Puy du Fou actors told this newspaper about the state of the rooms where they change clothes, shower and leave their belongings every day. “There are cobwebs in the corners,” was another of the workers’ complaints.
Being obliged to clean both spaces motivated Workers’ Commissions to report the theme park to the Labor Inspection last October. The union considered that the artists’ responsibilities “do not include having to clean common areas.” In their statement they explained that the company “has not resolved” this labor breach that affects “about 600 people.” This newspaper contacted several of the artists who star in the shows that make up the Puy du Fou agenda – who prefer to remain anonymous – and they confirmed that, although “there is cleanliness for what can be visited and what can be seen from facing the public”, “no one” is in charge of the facilities they use.
These workers also confirmed the volatility and instability of their schedules. Their lack of control and the “absence of registration” of what ended up being their hours worked were two of the reasons – along with non-compliance with the Workers’ Statute – why UGT Castilla-La Mancha also denounced Puy du Fou. “The document where workers are told to write down their hours is a sheet of paper that does not guarantee the reliability and invariability of the data,” they alleged.
We have boots that cause sores. I chose to apply Vaseline and wear non-slip mountain socks. Nobody provides you with something that doesn’t eat your feet
An actor from Puy du Fou who reported to the Labor Inspection
elDiario.es had access to several examples of the planning which is sent to employees to inform them about what their days will be. They show that this distribution of work generates long periods of breaks for which they are not paid. “Dead hours”, as they themselves define, in which the options they have are “eat, stay in the dining room, go to the gym in some of the shows, wander around the park, see the rest of the shows.” shows or, if we are tired, sleep on a bench.” “There are colleagues who even lie directly on mats and hammocks that we have hung ourselves,” described one of them. Stoppages can exceed three hours.
The lack of advance notice with which they are notified of their schedules, and that they are subject to continuous alterations, becomes more serious due to the logistical complications involved in the location of the park. “Every day we have a planning different and they change it without warning,” they lamented. Another of the big problems that Puy du Fou workers face are injuries.
“The easiest thing is for something to happen to you,” one of the actors explained to this medium. Hence, the irregularities of the terrain, the darkness of the shows and the lack of security are some of the complications that actors and ushers have asked to improve, in addition to implementing their health service. “We don’t have a doctor or an ambulance,” they point out, there is only a team of nurses and a physiotherapist.
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