The employers reject the newest Labor proposal to cut back the working day | Economy | EUROtoday

The representatives of Spanish employers won’t signal the settlement to cut back the unusual working day to 38.5 hours this 12 months, and to 37.5 hours subsequent 12 months. This was confirmed this Tuesday by the employers’ affiliation, after a unprecedented assembly that established the place that the employers will defend within the subsequent assembly with the Ministry of Labor, the final of a negotiation that started in January. “The extraordinary Executive Committee of CEOE has unanimously rejected the Ministry of Labor’s proposal for a legal reduction in the working day,” CEOE and Cepyme mentioned in a press release. The subsequent assembly is November 11, the date on which each they and the unions have to tell Yolanda Díaz’s division in the event that they settle for her proposal, which in accordance with the ministry is the ultimate one. Thus, like 41 years in the past, the final time the unusual working day was diminished in Spain, the settlement won’t have the assist of businessmen. This a priori complicates the measure receiving approval from the Congress of Deputies.

“CEOE and Cepyme, from their responsibility, cannot support this proposal. Modifying by law issues that are the subject of collective agreements, such as the reduction of working hours, and that, in fact, are already being agreed bilaterally in the agreements, represents an interference in the autonomy of collective bargaining, enshrined in the article 37.1 of the Constitution”, the employers’ associations have commented in their press release, in which they have expressed the opinion that “the approval of this norm only weakens the collective bargaining framework and, in practice, leads to many companies, especially to SMEs and the self-employed, to a forced reorganization that will put their capacity for internal organization and survival to the limit.”

Negotiations started on January 25. From then till June, unions and employers negotiated on their very own, searching for a joint settlement to current to the ministry, however there was no settlement. The enterprise’s insistence that the discount in working hours be compensated by a cap on the utmost annual additional time hours and the union’s rejection of this method, amongst different disagreements, ran this two-way dialogue aground. With that start line, it was already troublesome to think about that the ministry would attain an settlement, provided that its place is much like that of the unions. Before the summer time it appeared that the ministry would attain an settlement solely with the facility vegetation, because it supposed to deliver the rule to Congress as quickly as attainable to satisfy the deadlines set by the PSOE and Sumar authorities settlement.

However, the ministry prolonged the negotiation (after the PSOE requested for endurance to draw businessmen), with new conferences after the summer time holidays. Already then, the unions had been accusing the employers of a delaying technique, which was not value persevering with to barter, and therefore they protested on the finish of September in entrance of the CEOE headquarters all through Spain. Despite how far aside the positions had been, Labor conveyed optimism relating to the participation of the employers. “I am absolutely convinced that there is a possibility of agreement on this matter in our country. I hope we move forward, I’m not getting up from this table. “I have infinite patience,” Díaz mentioned in early October.

Aid to SMEs

Then the ministry had already placed on the desk among the compensatory measures with which it supposed to draw employers, such because the bonus in contributions for brand new hires brought on by the discount in working hours. This try culminated on October 29, when Labor additionally provided to offer direct monetary help of as much as 6,000 euros for corporations with lower than 5 employees within the commerce, hospitality, hairdressing, cleansing and agricultural sectors.

“Let them do what they have to do, but I have the right, representing Spanish companies, especially in this case the small ones and the self-employed, to say what we think. And this is bad for the economy and for small businesses (…). In no case are we going to share the pure interventionism of the Government,” mentioned Antonio Garamendi, the president of the CEOE, two days later in statements reported by Europa Press. Joaquín Pérez Rey, Secretary of State for Labor, publicly warned businessmen that in the event that they rejected the settlement, this help might decline and never be included as an accompaniment to the invoice.

The Government’s proposal maintains additional time hours on the most of 80 presently set by the laws, supplies flexibility for the discount to be utilized on an annual foundation and reinforces the time file, in order that the sanctions are given per worker and never per firm ( which might significantly enhance the fee in punishments). He additionally desires the time registration system to be digital and for the Inspection to have the ability to entry it instantly to watch non-compliance. The employers proceed to defend that modifications within the working day are a part of collective bargaining and that they should be positioned inside that framework, with out unilateral reductions. They argue that in the most efficient sectors, people who handle to do extra in much less time, the agreed working hours have already been diminished with out the necessity for authorized modifications. Unions and the ministry counter that this exactly reinforces the necessity for regulatory modification, since collective bargaining won’t ever handle to cut back working hours in essentially the most precarious sectors.

With these in thoughts, if the Ministry of Labor continues with the plans it introduced, it’s going to attain the settlement with UGT and CC OO, as has been taking place with different measures because the midway level of the final legislature. This has occurred with the will increase within the minimal wage or with the standing of the intern (which isn’t but in drive because of the rejection of the PSOE). The final settlement that Díaz’s division managed to shut with businessmen was the regulatory improvement to stop discrimination towards the LGTBI+ group in corporations. Employers and unions additionally agreed with the Government (with Social Security, on this case) on the final a part of the pension reform.

Parliamentary path

One of the phrases most repeated by Garamendi in current months is the next: “Go to Parliament and get it approved.” He has repeatedly inspired the ministry to deliver an settlement with the unions to Congress. When requested by this newspaper about this in an interview, whether or not he knew that with out employer assist the measure wouldn’t come to fruition in Congress, he mentioned in July: “I don’t know. We will, of course, explain why we think it is not a reasonable issue at this time.”

Neither the PP nor Junts have revealed their place, however negotiating sources see it as very troublesome for them to assist the Government on this concern if CEOE doesn’t signal the measure. They already noticed it as troublesome with enterprise assist, however much more so. The PNV has been exhibiting assist for the discount in working hours, which even crystallized in a positive vote for an initiative relating to Sumar in February. The chief of the celebration, Andoni Ortuzar, even mentioned that “in principle” they might assist the measure two weeks in the past, however on the identical day sources from the Basque celebration careworn the significance of a social dialogue settlement in order that their assist is assured. If PSOE and Sumar get the assist of all of the left-wing events in Congress, they might nonetheless want a sure from Junts and PNV or the PP to hold out the discount in working hours.