Thomas Cook employees protest at headquarters in Palma

EMPLOYEES from Thomas Cook held a protest in front of the company’s headquarters to denounce their current employment status.
For the second consecutive week, employees resumed their position outside of the office doors, holding signs to express their discontent. For more than a month, they have had to show up each day to work, despite having nothing to do. They are also unable to sign a contract with another company since they have not yet agreed to terminate their employment.
The protest on Wednesday coincided with the arrival of a bankruptcy administrator, who meets weekly at the headquarters with representatives of the workers to discuss the closure of the company, which is declared in bankruptcy proceedings. According to employee sources, “they conduct long meetings once or twice a week in order to take advantage of time as they travel from the Peninsula”.
Employees from the Palma headquarters have expressed their pessimism about the outcome of these meetings, which began last Thursday and are expected to end at the beginning of December. “The administrator remains firm in their refusal to grant us paid leave without giving us a logical explanation”, explained the workers in a statement, insisting that they have asked for information on why they are kept on at the headquarters without a job.
Although they confirmed that they were paid on Wednesday for the month of October, they said that they felt like “hostages” in the situation and that everyday they have to enter the premises escorted by police officers.
Finally, they expressed their disappointment with the attitude of the acting Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto, who “only came to the rally to take a picture”.