The Kellys' struggle, a decade later: "We were completely invisible."

BarcelonaIn recent years, housekeepers have experienced an increase in workload and a reduction in the time available to clean a room, which puts their health at risk. Around 2014, some housekeepers gathered through social media to gain visibility and support each other regarding their work situation. In 2015, they decided to form several regional groups throughout Spain, which now operate independently.

Under the name of Las Kellys, coming from "those that clean", consolidated as an association in 2016 and presented themselves publicly in Barcelona, ​​under the direction of Myriam Barros and with the support of 2,000 other workers. The union has a specific manifesto for each of its sub-territories and a general one, which calls for early retirement with an increase in decent pensions, recognition of occupational diseases, and inspections.

"The big problem we had at the beginning was that we were completely invisible; people didn't notice us, neither in the hotels nor in how we cleaned," explains Vania Arana, a member of Las Kellys Barcelona. At the beginning, they denounced hotel chains and multi-service companies. In 2017, they entered Parliament to defend their demands, and later also addressed the European Commission. From the beginning, they have defended what they call the Kelly Law, This amendment to Article 42 of the Workers' Statute is intended to prevent hotels from hiring chambermaids through external and multi-service companies, considering that this represents a significant "deprofessionalization" of the profession. Despite the changes brought about by the 2021 labor reform—which requires multi-service companies to pay their employees at least the salary stipulated in the applicable sector agreement—a chambermaid hired by a hotel will be paid according to the hospitality agreement, but a worker hired by an external company may receive the salary stipulated in the cleaning agreement. Furthermore, Arana explains that there are cases in which "working hours have been cut, but the workload remains the same, eight hours."

One of Las Kellys' demands was for various disorders resulting from repetitive arm and hand movements suffered by housekeepers to be recognized as occupational diseases. In 2018, they achieved official recognition of carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, tendonitis, and epicondylitis as occupational diseases. "They are becoming more accepted, and many housekeepers no longer have as much difficulty getting surgery. But there are still cases in which they come to us because the mutual insurance companies don't accept them as occupational diseases," explains Arana.

The precariousness of the sector became significantly evident during the pandemic, when many Kellys They reported mass layoffs just before the state of emergency was declared, which prevented them from benefiting from temporary employment regulation files (ERTO) due to force majeure. However, thanks to social pressure and the chambermaids themselves, the Spanish government extended ERTO to permanent, discontinuous contracts. "On the other hand, those who were working for external service companies were left on the street," Arana recalls. "Many changed sectors and worked in hospital cleaning."

Own reservation center

An important moment for the association was the initiative to create its own reservation center, a portal for booking hotel rooms with fair working conditions. The idea arose after wanting to promote a fair labor and quality seal approved by Parliament in 2018, but which was not implemented due to a lack of agreement with the employers' association. In 2021, the organization organized a crowdfunding fund and raised around €80,000, but many of the hotels that had signed up closed due to the pandemic and they didn't know where to turn, explains Arana. That's why it wasn't possible to launch the project the following year. However, the chambermaid assures that the plan is still moving forward, but they are seeking a firm commitment from the hotels.

Barcelona City Council recently announced it would raise the tourist tax and that part of these funds would be used to provide training for chambermaids and develop professional growth paths so they can take on other roles in the tourism sector. Arana regrets that they haven't spoken with Las Kellys and asserts that "they already have the training" because they have had to share their knowledge with each other. She also argues that some of them work in this field out of vocation and don't want to change jobs. The worker reflects on all that remains to be achieved and advises future chambermaids to consider all possible options when looking for work, keeping their health in mind.