Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
The mayor of his town, Juan Antonio Lara, must be sighing and wishing for a vacation as he has suffered yet another setback due to previous administrations.
The council has been forced to spend almost half a mil of taxpayers’ money to pay a heavy fine due to previous councils.
Benalmadena Town Hall has been ordered to pay €444,850 due to improper labour practices during employment programmes implemented in 2019 and 2020, under the administration of then-Mayor Víctor Navas. The Employment Inspection of Ministry of Labour and Social Economy determined that the council did not pay Social Security contributions and had wages below standards set by the municipal collective agreement.
The programmes EMPLE@30+ and EMPLE@45+ as well as Plan AIRE were designed to boost employability in groups that are facing challenges on the labour market. The local auditor had raised concerns about wage rights and Social Security contribution. However, these contracts, which were formalised by Navas’s and the Employment Councillor’s decrees, did not take into account the warnings of the local auditor. Human Resources Department said the contracts should also have adhered with the municipal agreement which mandates salary above the minimum wage. The workers instead received the SMI in violation of law.
Benalmadena Town Hall was informed by the Social Security General Treasury resolution on July 25, demanding payment of unpaid contributions as well as surcharges. Due to the statutes of limitations, wage discrepancies are no longer admissible, but administrative violations regarding Social Security remain, resulting in the fine. The unforeseen expense strains the council budget, already burdened by a recent €1.2 million court-ordered payment to FCC for unpaid cleaning service invoices from the previous administration. Together, these obligations exceed €1.6 million, which threatens Benalmadena’s financial stability and potentially impacts other budgetary commitments.
Despite warnings from technical experts, the previous administration continued with contracts that did not meet compliance standards. The current administration has not yet publicly commented or announced plans to pursue administrative or legal accountability for the mismanagement of 2019-2020. Mayor Lara is probably taking a deep breath and counting up to 10.
