Regular passenger road transport in Gran Canaria has a new and complex roadmap. The Canary Islands Government's Directorate General of Labor has officially registered and filed the seventh Collective Bargaining Agreement for Salcai Utinsa , commercially known as Global , for the period until 2027 , that is, until the end of the concession. This document not only regulates the working conditions of the island's largest intercity transport operator , but also establishes specific clauses to protect the business on the coveted routes connecting the capital with the southern tourist areas.
The agreement, originally signed by the company's management and validated by the trade unions Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the GLOBAL Workers' Association (ATG) , is notable for its protection against future management changes. Operating under the AUTGC-1 Concession of the Gran Canaria Single Transport Authority , any public bidding process will strictly require the incoming company to retain all employees. The text explicitly states that the " work location " will be fully respected, and, in particular, the service route, guaranteeing that drivers assigned to the southern corridors—those with the highest passenger and tourist traffic—will maintain their current conditions and shifts.
The summary of this collective agreement reveals the complexity of a workforce that spends entire weeks on the road and exposes highly specialized compensation and operational concepts. Among the most striking aspects of the regulated structure are the " Special Night Shifts ," differentiated rates for overtime worked specifically by personnel on their day off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and the supplements for the " production support system ."
The regulations delve into the realities of bus drivers' lives through articles dedicated to " Cleaning and refueling vehicles by the driver-receiver ," in addition to meticulously regulating a wide range of per diem allowances under the categories of basic, enhanced, and on-the-go allowances. Furthermore, the company internally addresses a critical factor for the continuity of its business: Article 49 Bis establishes the procedures and mechanisms for recovering points on its employees' driver's licenses, a vital safeguard against the tightening of traffic regulations on the GC-1 and GC-2 highways.
Organizing work time on an island with seasonal peak demand due to tourist events requires extreme flexibility. The agreement establishes a meticulous service request system divided into annual, monthly, and weekly calls, complemented by a daily assignment scheme for on-call personnel and the management of the so-called "flying team." This system aims to optimize vehicle presence on southern roads during weekends and holidays, days that are penalized with specific Sunday work bonuses.
Finally, the agreement adapts to the archipelago's climate by incorporating state-of-the-art annexes. Alongside equality plans in effect until 2029 and digital disconnection protocols, Annex IV stands out : a specific action protocol for protection against adverse weather events or catastrophic risks. This tool is crucial for the south of the island, which is cyclically exposed to episodes of extreme haze, windstorms, or high-temperature alerts that require constant monitoring of occupational health and safety on active routes.
