The trickle of voluntary departures of social and health care personnel from the Formentera nursing home begins, threatening its operation.

Two workers with the category of socio-sanitary staff of the residence for the elderly of Formentera formalized their sick leave on Monday. The measure has not caught anyone by surprise, since, as La Voz de Ibiza advanced, at least five workers announced that they would leave their jobs in the near future and at least three others warned the management of the center that they were seriously thinking about it.

• Formentera nursing home on the verge of collapse: almost half of the staff announces they are resigning from their jobs

In fact, it is taken for granted that the three workers who firmly communicated their decision to management will formalize their resignation in the next few hours.

The volume of sick leave that is on the table is worrying, insofar as the workforce is made up of 14 female workers. And, in view of the complaints and the stories known to date, it is at least a very tight, if not insufficient, workforce.

Without going any further, at least on some nights, there is only one professional in the entire center to attend to the 18 users. In addition, they are also forced to perform tasks for which they are not qualified due to a lack of staff in other key departments.

It should not be overlooked, moreover, that the replacement of personnel is not easy. This has been the case, at least, in two selection processes in which either a person or personnel who were already in the center’s orbit through substitutions applied. The climate of confrontation does not help to make the job attractive.

According to Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera, citing sources from the Consell de Formentera, the center’s management is trying to minimize that it is on the verge of collapse in the event that half of the staff leaves. “The corresponding solutions will be sought to guarantee the attention to the users”.

The Consell insists that “the negotiation is still open”. In fact, as the president Óscar Portas promised on Friday at the last meeting in which the negotiation was blown up, has already begun the round of bilateral negotiations between the management of the center and the workers.

The background to the conflict is the desire expressed by the director appointed by Sa Unió, Carla Tur, to change the regime of two days worked in 12-hour days and three days off in force since the center was inaugurated just over two years ago.

The Councilor for Social Welfare, Cristina Costa, is at the forefront of the negotiation.

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