Desde la sección del taxi de la CNT se han preparado carteles para colocar en el taxi y octavillas informativas para repartir a los visitantes del Mobile World Congress un evento que tendrá lugar en Barcelona del día 2 al 5 de marzo.
Carteles y octavillas para denunciar la situación de explotación en la que se encuentra el taxista de Barcelona obligado a hacer jornadas de 12 horas por un convenio colectivo esclavista y una sobre explotación de licencias de taxi, en una grave situacion de exceso de oferta de transporte y una caída del trabajo en la industria del taxi.
Informar a los visitantes sobre el peligro del pago de comisiones a hoteles, como los estafadores de hoteles Catalonia y las emisoras comisionistas de Aero Taxi, City Taxi y Tele Taxi informando del peligro que corren al solicitar un taxi desde el hotel.
Advertir a los visitantes del Mobile World Congress que desde la seccion de taxistas de la CNT no vamos a permitir que empresa como UBER o Mytaxi (aplicaciones para telefonos mobiles) conviertan el taxi y el transporte de Barcelona en su negocio particular y privado especulando y jugando con los puestos trabajo de miles de taxistas. No vamos a permitir que se hagan con el control del transporte de Barcelona, y que lo conviertan en una subasta al mejor postor ni que engañen a los usuarios y ciudadanos de Barcelona, no queremos ni a UBER ni a My Taxi ni en la feria del mobil de barcelona, no son bienvenidos:
If you call a cab through the hotel it can cost you 30% than if you hail it on the street.
That taxi driver is probably forced to pay the hotel a fee, which is illegal.
Usually the driver then charges the tourist an illegal surcharge equivalent to the fee.
This illegal surcharge is often justified as the cost of the pickup at the hotel, as non-existent supplement or simply by demanding an amount higher than that displayed by the meter.
The maximum pickup cost, supplements and mandatory fees are on all cab windows.
If you need a cab there are stops for that purpose all around the city. If there isn’t any near your hotel you can just hail an unoccupied cab on the street.
Never use taxi services from the companies Aero Taxi, City Taxi or Tele Taxi as they’re known for participating in the illegal hotel fees scheme. These taxis aren’t safe or trustworthy.
From the CNT taxi drivers’ union we won’t allow companies such as UBER or Mytaxi to turn the Barcelona taxi and transportation industry into their private business through their speculation, putting the living of thousands of drivers in danger.
We won’t allow them to take control of transportation in Barcelona and to turn it into an auction for the highest bidder, to fool users and inhabitants of Barcelona. They are not welcome.
We want to denounce the despicable working conditions taxi workers are subjected to in Barcelona. They’re forced to work 12 hours a day thanks to pro-business legislation and to the mismanagement of licensing by the government.
HOTELES CATALONIA SCAMS ITS CLIENTS AND EXPLOITS ITS WORKERS
Hoteles Catalonia is a hotel chain owned by a wealthy family with a long corporate history in Catalonia: the Vallet family. This hotel chain, present in several countries, fancies itself a growing business. New hotels appear one after the other, as do articles about the company in important newspapers, handshakes with influential politicians… All of it making Hoteles Catalonia one of the main forces in a very competitive industry. All that glitters is not gold, though. Behind the great wealth amassed by the Vallet family in their hotel cartel one can find the most despicable, exploitative labor practices, as well as a dishonest company policy towards clients.
Racism, misogyny and labor exploitation:
Working in Hoteles Catalonia isn’t easy in itself. If on top of that you’re a woman and an immigrant your day-to-day life becomes a living hell. Among the worst attacks levied against workers are the following:
Harassment and abuse towards senior workers so that they’ll quit their jobs, allowing the company to hire new workers with even worse working conditions, in the process saving itself compensation for the firing, benefits, etc.
Abuse and discrimination against women and migrant workers, who are subjected to insults, threats, shouting and scorn by hotel directors, human resources executives and other superiors.
Fake job categories and descriptions, specially in the case of women, migrant workers and union members, who on paper are hired for a lower category so that the company can pay them less than required for the work they actually do.
Fraud in hiring new workers, doing all kinds of shady things to get around the obligation to hire for fixed positions (as opposed to temporary contracts).
Union busting and summary firing of any worker who dares stand up for their rights.
Abusive working hours, constantly-changing schedules, difficulties when trying to enjoy accrued vacation days…
Our union has been demanding dignity for the workers of Hoteles Catalonia. Faced by our reasonable demands the company has maintained an arrogant attitude at all times, refusing to even have a meeting to discuss the situation of the workers.
If you’re a client: the great scam of Hoteles Catalonia
On top of squeezing its workers dry, this hotel chain is known for fooling its clients in several ways. One of them is OVERBOOKING, that is, offering more rooms than are actually available, leading to clients arriving to their hotel only to discover that their room is already occupied. This practice is done so as to guarantee the maximum possible occupation of rooms no matter how many clients are left out. Of course, this is forbidden by law, but we already know capitalists only care about the law when it suits them.
Another con trick is Hoteles Catalonia charging taxi drivers a fee, which contributes on one hand to the deterioration of working conditions in the taxi industry and on the other to an increase in transportation prices for the hotel’s own clients. It goes down like this: the hotel offers to call a cab for the clients. In exchange for calling certain taxi companies, hotels charge the drivers a fee, an amount that leads to clients paying two or three times over what they would’ve paid if they’d gone to regular taxi stop. In this way Hoteles Catalonia lines its pockets at the expense of its clients.
For all these reasons, from the Barcelona CNT-AIT union we ask workers and clients of Hoteles Catalonia, as well as the broader working class, to stand up against all the abuses committed by this company. If you’re a worker, organize and fight for your rights, support the demands of those who fight back. If you’re a client don’t use these hotels anymore, hold this business accountable, ask for and write complaint forms at the reception desk and leave negative reviews about these hotels on room reservation websites.
Let the whole world know what’s going on in Hoteles Catalonia: fraud, misogyny, racism and labor exploitation.
SALUT Y BUEN VIAJE