Aristotle’s metaphysics would explain certain movements by Mercadona to obtain the desired impact. The giant led by Juan Roig advances with the obsession for coherence. Thinking, saying and doing. In one of his doctrines, the Greek philosopher spoke of the act -that which is, the now-, and the power -what can be or become-. Serve the example of a seed, which is a seed in action, and at the same time, a potential tree.
The Aristotelian reflection evokes, then, Mercadona’s exercise of coherence. The company expects to hire 7,000 people to reinforce the workforce in view of the imminent summer season. An apparently quantitative question due to the increase in the volume of tourists and the need to cover holidays, but which hides a qualitative value that they attribute to “maintaining excellence in service and constant improvement”. Indeed, a movement such as the provisional expansion of a team is, in fact, a mere temporary contract, but potentially it is the guarantee of excellence in all its stores -and, behind it, of the logistics blocks-. What it is, and what possibly happens. Coherence in act and power.
The forecasts for the summer season point to historical figures in Spain. Government sources announced, during the first quarter of the year, that the country could reach 85 million visitors in 2023. It is precisely in the coastal areas of Andalusia, Murcia, the Valencian Community, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands, where Mercadona plans to incorporate more professionals, in a campaign that starts in May and will last until the end of September.
In Catalonia there will be about 1,240 people, distributed to a greater extent by the Costa Daurada, the Costa Brava or the Vall d’Aran. To all its employees, including those who join this wave, Mercadona offers an initial salary of 1,507 euros gross per month in different positions for which no previous experience is required, “because specific training is received adapted to each job position â€, they assure.
Coherence finds another important point for Mercadona in salary remuneration, within the framework of its Total Quality Model. Apart from the talks between employers and unions to reach an agreement on the salary review, the group’s management committee agreed at the end of 2022 to increase the salary of the entire workforce, made up of more than 96,000 people, of According to the CPI for December. A decision that affected workers in both Spain and Portugal, “with the aim of maintaining the purchasing power of the people who are part of the company.” The increase, internal sources say, is applied to the total salary, with corresponding supplements included. The measure came into force last January, with an increase of 5.7% in Spain and 9.6% in Portugal, where Mercadona had previously raised the base salary by 11%.
From the group they emphasize that it is not an isolated initiative, and insist on the sustained coherence of the discourse with the facts. Already in January 2022, the committee itself made the decision to raise the salary of the entire human team by 6.5%. “All the people who are part of the company are the best asset for customers: the more satisfied they are, the more Mercadona advances,” they confess. Thus, an employee who starts his career in the group -in Spain- receives a gross salary of 1,507 euros per month, which is approximately 20% more than the interprofessional minimum wage and, if he is more than four years old, he will reach a remuneration of 2,039 euros; 62% more than the SMI. To this is added a bonus for objectives, of one or two extra monthly payments, depending on the seniority of the worker and the goals agreed at the beginning of each year.
The wage increase inevitably entails an increase in fixed costs. Faced with this situation, Mercadona has promoted a series of measures aimed at raising the awareness of the workforce in the analysis of costs and the digitization of processes. These actions, the company points out, have reported a double improvement: a 9% increase in productivity and savings of more than 200 million euros.
