Antonina Ricaurte’s job is not good for her health: the 51-year-old has already had two shoulder operations, and suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome and plantar fasciitis, or heel pain.
“My health is pretty much destroyed,” says the native Ecuadorian who has been cleaning hotel rooms in Mallorca for over 20 years. She is also the spokesperson for Las Kellys, the association of room attendants. Many of the 60,000 or so women on the Balearic Islands who do this backbreaking job in the high season feel the same as she does. Often, they suffer from physical ailments because of the repetitive movements, such as bending and lifting. This is changing.
Antonina Ricaurte believes that only new laws that limit the workload will improve conditions in hotel rooms attendants
Only hotels have height-adjustable beds
Balearic’s new tourism law is now in effect. It is designed to make the industry more sustainable. The amendments concern, among other things, the issues of energy efficiency and CO2 reduction in the hotels sector. Not only will Mallorca vacations be more sustainable, but also the working conditions of the employees in the tourism industry will be improved. For example, hoteliers must purchase height-adjustable bedding so that their staff don’t get hurt when changing sheets. Prime Minister Francina Armentol promised that the Balearic Islands “will be a fully-sustainable destination” when she presented her plans at Fitur’s Madrid fair in January.
During a visit in February, Francina Argengol (l.), is shown height-adjustable hotel bed during Prime Minister Francina Armengol’s visit
After two years of the coronavirus epidemic and huge losses of income due the lack of tourists, the Balearic government has been trying to be more competitive in repositioning its islands relative to other Mediterranean destinations. Mallorca has been aware for years that holidaymakers are increasingly looking to sustainable tourism when choosing a destination. Maria Frontera, chairwoman, of the hotel association, says that natural resources are scarce on an island like this. She explains that efforts have been made over the years to promote sustainability.
Mere window dressing?
This is what Palma’s city centre looks like. A new hotel is being built by HM Hotels, which is being touted as resource-efficient. The hotel will be equipped with a photovoltaic system and will also use shower water to flush the toilets. According to company statements, disposable products and plastic packaging will be disposed of. According to future tourism law, there will be height-adjustable bedding.
The new Palma hotel is a great resource-efficient project.
Jaume Adrover states, “It is all window dressing.” The farmer is spokesperson of Terraferida environmental protection group, which has for years been critical of the excessive tourism on Mallorca. We don’t need talk about sustainability when there are 14 million tourists each year. Every summer, the island is stretched to its limits. There is no noticeable improvement in water consumption or energy use, nor in the amount of waste generated. There is only one way to make tourism more sustainable on Mallorca: reduce the number of tourist facilities.
There are no more than three cruise ships per day
Terraferida estimates that there are currently 410k beds in legal accommodation facilities on Mallorca. The Balearic government has approved almost 94,000 new beds in the last six years. He added that there are thousands of illegal lodgings such as rooms or vacation apartments. Adrover insists that a plan be developed to reduce the number and impact of tourists. Adrover is not optimistic that the new tourism law will be a game-changer. “It’s just green marketing.” I don’t see any significant step towards sustainability.
Jaume Aderover is a Mallorca farmer who wants to reduce the number of tourists.
The critics of mass tourism have managed to achieve at least partial success. The Balearic government has persuaded the association shipping companies to agree that only three ships can be moored at Palma’s port in the future. There have been no restrictions on the number of ships that can dock at Palma’s port. According to the Balearic Ministry of Tourism, this will result in a drop of 14.5 percent in the number of ships that stop at the island to 460 by 2022.
Maximum 35 rooms per shift
Antonina Ricaurte does not believe that the situation for hotel room attendants will improve significantly in the near future. “The height-adjustable bed is nice, but it doesn’t solve our real problem,” she said. Some of her colleagues clean up to 35 rooms per shift. That’s a lot of work and can lead to illness. Independent controls and a limit to the amount of work they can do would be a real help. “The government’s plans ignore reality.” Ricaurte says that the new law is too late. Ricaurte is now ready to quit her job at the hotel. She has retrained in paramedic. “I can’t continue working as a room attendant till I retire,” she said, with or without height adjustable beds.
