Working in Spain and the new labour reforms

WILL THE RECENT LABOUR REFORMS INITIATE A GENERAL STRIKE IN SPAIN?

Last weekend saw huge demonstrations in Spain against the labour reforms in Spain that the ruling PP (‘Conservative’ ) party have fast tracked through Spain’s legislature.  The protests were predictable, as furious private sector employees throughout the country saw their employment rights changed for the worse.

In short, the changes are as follows:

Before the new measures, if you were sacked for doing something wrong you would receive 20 days pay for a maximum of 4 years.  That has been reduced to 20 days pay to a maximum of 2 years.

If you were made unemployed in Spain and you were not at fault, in the past you would be entitled to 45 days pay for every year worked, up to a maximum of four years.  Now, you will receive 33 days pay for a maximum of 2 years.

Meanwhile, the allowable reasons for a company to fire its staff have been greatly broadened to include economic factors.  So, for example, if a company has been trading at a loss for three consecutive quarters then it can get rid of its staff.

The ‘bottom line’ is that the Spanish government is trying to make the hiring and firing of workers in Spain easier, in an effort to stimulate business.  In itself, this is a positive thing and should be welcomed, albeit understandably not by those seeing their rights reduced!

Certainly, something needed doing, as employing people in Spain is not for the faint hearted.  Indeed, it is estimated that some one third of all people working in Spain are on temporary rather than permanent contracts.  In itself, this must indicate that something is badly wrong with the system and that changes are needed – or why else are employers so reluctant to take workers on full time?

Of course, any labour reforms in Spain that remove existing rights are guaranteed to be deeply unpopular.  The question is how unpopular and whether the private sector workers of Spain will call a general strike and attempt to overturn the labour reforms in Spain?

Frankly, I cannot see the new Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, backing down (strike or no strike) and, having been recently elected with a clear majority, he knows that he has little to worry about in the short to mid-term.  Equally, I suspect that he knows that Spanish working practices must be dragged into the 21^st Century, if Spain is to avoid being tarnished within the EU by the Greek ‘brush’.

Meanwhile, few private sector workers cannot be aware of how dangerous a position the Spanish economy is in nor how tenuous may be their own sector of work, so any sustained strike action may be positively kamikaze.  To make matters worse (for employees), they are hardly likely to get much support from the unemployed.  Indeed, the 5.4 million people without work in Spain may well consider those with jobs as lucky to have them – almost regardless of their conditions of employment.

However, lying in wait for the very brave (or foolhardy) Spanish politician is a more dangerous area requiring even more significant labour reform in Spain than the private sector.  This, not surprisingly, is the public sector, which has a level of job security that would have Karl Marx giggling in his grave.

Antiquated and cumbersome, the conditions of employment in the Spanish public sector need a total shake up, with jobs for life and the absurd system of Spanish civil service exams (oposiciones) dispensed with as soon as possible.  This, however, in not likely to happen soon, as the vast vested interests of the public sector are deeply entrenched and would fight any necessary (major) change ‘tooth and nail’.

In this regard, I am always reminded of the comment made by a friend of mine who described the Spanish dream (for the Spanish) as being: a good flat within their home town, a front line beach apartment, the ability to speak fluent English, a Mercedes car – and a job with the state!   I suspect that this is truer than ever before, particularly amongst private sector workers…

Nick Snelling – Culture Spain

FURTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT WORKING IN SPAIN

Unemployment in Spain set to rise further

Working in Spain the over-qualification problem

Spanish products and working with the Spanish