Old Navy Employees in Playa del Carmen Protest Broken AC, Low Profit Sharing

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Employees at the Old Navy store in Paseo del Carmen protested Friday, saying they have worked for about eight months without a functioning air conditioning system and demanding answers about their profit-sharing payments.

Workers gathered in front of the store with signs reading “Heat is not part of the uniform,” “Dehydration is not a game,” and “Our health is not negotiable.”

According to a document prepared by the employees, the lack of air conditioning has lasted roughly eight months and affects staff members who work shifts of up to nine hours.

The workers said the conditions have caused episodes of suffocation, dehydration, rashes and other skin problems. They also provided photographs of some of those effects.

Another complaint centers on profit sharing. Employees said that over the past three years, they have received payments ranging from 25 to 125 pesos, amounts they consider disproportionate given the store’s sales volume. They questioned how the payments were calculated and asked for more information about the process.

Other issues reported by the workers include a leak in the men’s bathroom that has persisted for four or five months, causing water to accumulate, as well as malfunctioning escalators and an elevator with a deteriorating floor. They said elevator failures have trapped employees for up to 20 minutes.

The workers also said they lack access to purified water.

The protest was peaceful and took place in front of the store’s windows, where employees displayed a sign in English reading: “Your purchase can wait, our rights cannot.”

Employees asked authorities to inspect the store and the conditions they reported.