New figures revealing the extent of workplace absenteeism in the Canary Islands have sparked calls for a tightening up of procedures for monitoring and dealing with persistent offenders.
A report published recently by Randstad reveals that an average of over 13,000 workers failed to turn up to work every day in the Canaries during the last quarter of 2024 without being covered by a sick note. The figure puts the region second on the list of Spain’s regions in terms of absenteeism, behind only the Basque Country. According to the report, unexplained absences have spiralled post- Covid, rising by 50% since 2020.
Influential employers’ body, the Confederación Canaria de Empresarios (CCE), puts the cost to businesses of the absences at 2.4 billion euros a year and blames the culprits for showing disregard for their colleagues, who have to cover their work during the days off. Meanwhile, another employers’ association (CEOE-Tenerife) has called for an anonymous whistleblowing mechanism to be created to identify persistent absentees who abuse the system.
However, the criticism is rejected by trade unions, who insist that the increased absenteeism recorded in recent years is a direct result of poor working conditions and insecure jobs, leading to serious health issues for workers.
