The deputy of the Common, Rafael Yanes, urged the institutions to “eliminate” teleworking if it is detected that it lowers the productivity of workers compared to face-to-face work, since “there is a feeling that it harms the quality of services” .
In the presentation of the annual report before the commission of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Yanes recognized that teleworking “is a modality that has environmental and family benefits”, but at the same time “it cannot become a labor right that harms the quality of services ”, because it “distances the citizenry” from the Administration. “It cannot be accepted that the service is not provided to the citizen”, because the worker who must provide it is teleworking that day, and, for this, he asked the administrations to clearly establish which positions are likely to access teleworking in the Job openings relations.
The Common deputy recognized that it is a “sequel” of the pandemic, like the previous appointment, which, in his opinion, “cannot be mandatory”, because the mechanisms that are needed “are not guaranteed for the entire population” . In addition, he said, “it is advisable, but not mandatory, because it marginalizes a sector of the population.”
Yanes defended the “serious, honest and independent” work of the institution throughout the Legislature, and which closed 2022 with 2,925 complaints, which represents an increase of 63% in five years, although lower than the 2021 figure “unusual” of 3,671.
He highlighted the will of the Provincial Council to make an extraordinary report on the housing situation, a proposal that “has been well received” by all the councils and half of the municipalities that have responded. The objective is that it be completed by the end of the year or in 2024, since it is about making a “conscientious study” that allows obtaining “useful” proposals.
The Provincial Council endorsed the Housing Plan 2020-25 and requests that “deadlines be met”, stressing that inspection must be improved to “eliminate fraudulent practices” such as “clandestine sales, illegal occupations or subleasing”.
As for the disability, he regretted the delays in the assessment and grade reviews, since the legal three months “have become 39 months.” On dependency, he remarked that complaints fell by 36%, although it continues to be the area “that has the most.” He acknowledged that management has improved, but the Canary Islands are still “at the tail” in a multitude of parameters -although in access to economic benefits it ranks seventh.
He demanded the approval of the national plan for the caregiver and the creation of a study commission in Parliament. Likewise, he highlighted the improvement in the health waiting lists, but reiterated that it is “insufficient”, because they are very “improvable”.
Regarding the third sector, he highlighted that associations, foundations and cooperatives manage 88% of disability resources and 100% dependency. To guarantee its economic stability, he proposed to anticipate the calls for 0.7% of personal income tax so that the money “arrives before” starting the projects and to study the possibility of undertaking multi-year initiatives and that the collective agreement is respected.
