The judicial decision supports the procedure adopted by the San Fernando City Council, which entrusted the direct management of the service to the municipal company Hemsa. The ruling highlights that the employers' association, through the State Association of Home Care Service Entities (Asade), lacked the standing to challenge the plenary agreement.
Municipal sources indicated that, even if Asade's lawsuit had been successful, the City Council would only have had to repeat the direct award process. This is because the initial municipalization agreement, which is the basis of the decision, was not challenged at the time and was therefore firm.
The dismissive judicial resolution has been received with satisfaction as it endorses the procedure developed by the island's City Council since it announced the municipalization of the service in the summer of 2022.
The municipalization of the service, initiated in the summer of 2022 amidst a labor dispute with the previous contractor, was a complex process that lasted almost two years, concluding on September 1, 2024. This direct management has allowed for significant labor improvements for the staff, such as the 35-hour work week, one of their main demands.
According to November data, the number of SAD users in San Fernando has grown to 788 people, leading to an increase in staff to 268 workers. The municipal government defends this management model as the most appropriate, given the peculiarities of the service and the profile of dependent users, and notes that other localities such as El Puerto de Santa María are following its example.
