Francais
Español
|
COUNTRY : Spain
TITLE OF THE PACT: Interconfederal Agreement for
Stability in Employment (Acuerdo Interconfederal para la
Estabilidad del Empleo-AIEE)
PERIOD : April, 1997-May 2001
SIGNATORY PARTIES: Employers organisations (CEOE and its
small and medium enterprise affiliate, CEPYME) and workers’
organisations (CC.OO. and UGT)
GOALS OF THE PACT: Boost job security and employment
creation
BACKGROUND: Widespread job insecurity
- Unemployment has risen from 5,3% in 1977 to a current rate (1997)
of almost 22%
- Youth unemployment is even higher, with an estimated 42% of young
people under 25 currently (1997) out of work
- Vast majority (96%) of new contracts signed in 1996 are temporary.
Of those contracts signed for a fixed-term, some 70% were for
a duration of less than three months with only 0,4% for a duration
of
more than one year
- High incidence of fixed-term contracts due to the high cost of
dismissals. Severance payments in the case of unlawful dismissal
on objective grounds (despido objetivo) are 45 days pay per
year of service, up to a maximum of 42 months’ pay. Employers
generally prefer to pay this amount rather than the lower payments
on offer for lawful dismissal, in order to avoid being taken to
an industrial tribunal, which is time-consuming and costly. This
means
that, in practice, severance payments in the case of open-ended
contracts are expensive and employers prefer to hire employees
on fixed-term or temporary contracts, thus avoiding becoming liable
for these severance payments.
- According to employers and trade unions, this system is hampering
job-creation, as companies are reluctant to take on employees
which are difficult and costly to dismiss
- Nevertheless, trade unions are nervous about making it easier
for employers to dismiss workers
MATTERS AGREED:
-
Creation of a new type of open-ended employment contract
specifically aimed at groups of workers who are finding it
difficult to gain a foothold in the labour market (young unemployed
people aged 18 to 29; people who have been unemployed on a
long-term basis defined as one year or more; unemployed workers
aged 45 years and over; people with disabilities and people on
temporary contracts).
- Severance payments for these new open-ended contracts unlawful
dismissal payments in the case of dismissal for objective reasons
were set at 33 days’ pay per year of service, up to a ceiling
of 24 months’pay.
- It is hoped that this will contribute significantly to the creation
of new, full-time, open-ended contracts.
- They clarified what
is meant by “objective dismissal”
- Severance payments in the case of unlawful dismissal for those
already employed on open-ended contracts will remain at 45
days’ pay per year of service, up to a maximum of 42
months’pay
- To improve young people’s access to the labour market,
the agreement includes provisions, which guarantee training for
young
people. A new training contract is to be created partially
replacing the existing apprenticeship system
- Limit the incidence of temporary working: Two types of temporary
contracts, a contract for works or services and temporary contracts
in order to respond to production needs are to be defined more
narrowly and their use more carefully monitored
- Improved protection for part-time workers
- Establishment of mechanisms to oversee these changes and to measure
developments
IMPACT:
-
The government claims that since 1997 these new contracts have
had a positive effect on both rate of unemployment and the incidence
of
open-ended employment. It cites official figures showing that the
number of open-ended contracts increased from just under 162,500
in 1997 to almost 220,800 in 2000. The incidence of fixed-term
contracts has thus been reduced, from 35% of all new contracts
in
1997 to 32,7% in 1999 and around 32% in 2000. Unemployment has
also fallen, to 13,7% in January 2001 from 17,2% in January 1999,
although Spain retains one of the highest unemployment rates in
the
EU
- The incidence of this type of work (temporary and fixed-term
employment) remains well above the European average, a situation
that the government wished to rectify in 2000. A series of social
dialogue talks were engaged on this subject and general labour
market reform. In the beginning of 2001 it became clear that an
accord looked to be out of reach and no consensus was reached.
Therefore, the government approved a package of labour market
measures that concentrate on widening the categories of people
eligible to be employed on the 1997 open-ended contracts to which
reduced severance payments apply, introducing an end-of-contract
bonus of eight days’per year of service in the case of
temporary contracts and increasing flexibility in part-time work.
FOLLOW-UP AND MONITORING SYSTEMS:
- Parties to the agreement have decided to set up a tripartite
commission made up of representatives of the government, unions
and employers to monitor the application of the pact and the temporary
employment sector
- This commission will also examine statistical information relating
to the temporary employment sector and endeavour to improve the
functioning of temporary employment agencies
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Miguel Martinez Lucio: “Spain in the 1990s: Strategic
Concertation” in S. Berger and H. Compston (ed.): Policy
Concertation and Social Partnership in Western Europe (New York
and Oxford, Bergham Books) pp.265-277
Sofía A. Perez: “Social Pacts in Spain” in G.
Fajertag and P. Rochet (ed.): Social pacts in Europe: New
Dynamics, (ETUI, OSE) pp. 343-363
“Social partners agree further labour market reform” in
European Industrial Relations Review, May 1997, No 280
“New Labour market reform” in European Industrial
Relations Review, April 2001, No 327
FULL TEXT OF THE AGREEMENT:
http://www.ccoo.es/Publicaciones/DocSindicales/aiee.html
Updated by MB. Approved by PD. Last Updated 21 May 2003.
|
