The union emphasizes that staff salaries have remained frozen since 2023.
UGT Public Services Canary Islands denounces the decision of the Arenas Sur School not to apply the salary increase foreseen in the XII Collective Agreement of Non-Subsidized Private Education, a measure that affects both the teaching and non-teaching staff of the center.
According to the union, the school management announced in November 2025 its decision to recognize the salary increases established in the state agreement for the 2025/2026 academic year, without, according to UGT, carrying out a real negotiation process with the legal representatives of the workers or with the staff delegates of the center.
The UGT union maintains that the measure is inappropriate, since the drop in enrollment recorded for the 2025/2026 academic year does not reach the threshold established in the collective bargaining agreement to justify the suspension of salaries. Specifically, the union points out that the reduction in students is below 5% compared to the 2024/2025 academic year, the percentage stipulated in sector regulations to justify resorting to this exceptional measure.
Furthermore, UGT Public Services Canary Islands denounces that staff salaries have remained frozen since 2023. In this regard, the union points out that the successive increases in fees applied by the center in recent years have not resulted in salary improvements for all workers.
The school continues to operate at a high level, and the staff's workload remains heavy, according to union sources. "We don't understand why this measure is being applied when the conditions established in the collective agreement are not being met," explains a teacher at the school. The decision affects all staff groups at the school: teachers, administrative and support staff, kitchen, cleaning, maintenance, and cafeteria workers. The UGT union emphasizes that non-teaching staff also perform essential work for the daily operation of the school and that this situation has generated significant discontent among the staff.
“Often people only think about the classrooms, but behind the scenes there are so many people making it possible for the school to function every day,” adds a cafeteria worker. “We too have endured the increased workload and the rising cost of living, and now we feel that we are being denied a right that belongs to all staff.”
UGT Public Services Canary Islands believes that the company is resorting to the salary non-application mechanism contemplated in labor regulations even though, according to the union, the circumstances foreseen in the collective agreement for this do not occur.
The union, together with the staff representatives of the center, will continue to demand the application of the salary increases included in the XII Agreement for Non-Subsidized Private Education and does not rule out further union actions in defense of the labor rights of the staff.
