Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Spain (Ratification: 1970)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Measures to alleviate the impact of the crisis. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government in the report for the period ending in June 2012. The Committee also notes the observations sent by the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CC.OO.) and the General Union of Workers (UGT) and the Government’s reply received in November 2012. The Government indicates that 2011 began with a slight recovery of the economy reflected in somewhat more positive trends in the labour market. From the third quarter of 2011 the process came to a halt: employment fell by 2 per cent in 2011. In the first quarter of 2012 the activity rate stood at 74.9 per cent, the occupation rate was 59.6 per cent and the unemployment rate was 24.4 per cent of the active population (unemployment rose by 4 percentage points by comparison with the same period in 2011). A total of 351,900 jobs were lost in 2011. At the end of that year, the number of unemployed persons stood at almost 5 million (with slightly more than 18 million occupied persons out of an active population of 23 million). The Government asserts that the labour reform approved by Royal Legislative Decree No. 2/2012 of 10 February 2012 issuing urgent measures for the reform of the labour market (adopted as Act No. 3/2012 of 6 July 2012) has created a regulatory framework for labour relations which are more favourable to job creation and maintenance. The Government states that it is being made easier for enterprises to adopt flexible measures in preference to the option of dismissal and it is promoting employability and stable recruitment, especially for young people. As regards the impact of Act No. 35/2010 of 17 September 2010, the Government indicates that the proportion of temporary workers decreased by nine percentage points between 2006 and 2010. However, the rate of temporary employment went back up to 25.3 per cent in 2011. The UGT considers that reducing the fiscal deficit has become the main objective of economic policy for Europe and emphasizes that this objective has hampered the recovery of both the economy and employment. The greatest impact of the adjustment measures has been on workers and their families. The current economic recession highlights the weaknesses in the productive market in Spain. The UGT claims that the solution is not to change the structure of the labour market but to establish a different balance among the various economic sectors, foster the recovery of national demand and boost the level of public sector employment and investment. The CC.OO. also highlights in its communication that 80 per cent of jobs lost between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2012 have been jobs held by men, especially young men under 25 years of age. The most affected sector is construction. The Committee notes that in order to know the effects of the labour market reform undertaken since February 2012 and to quantify its macro-economic impact, the Government relies on a simulation which has foreseen an adjustment in wages and hours of work instead of a loss of jobs. The positive impact hoped for from the 2012 labour reform is an increase of 4.5 percentage points in the level of potential GDP. The corresponding rise in employment will result in a permanent reduction of 3.2 percentage points in the structural component of the unemployment rate. The Government admits that if the current credit terms and the debt levels of enterprises persist, it is only from 2014 that the impact of the labour reform on the number of persons in employment will be seen. In view of the precedence given to economic policy objectives indicated by the trade union organizations and the deterioration that has occurred in the employment situation since the observation made in 2010, the Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report the manner in which Article 2 of the Convention is applied, namely whether a regular review is undertaken of the measures and policies adopted for attaining the objectives specified in Article 1. The Committee recalls that, under the provisions of Article 1 of the Convention, an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment must be declared and pursued as a major goal.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Government refers in its report to the various tripartite agreements concluded in 2011 and January 2012. The trade union organizations denounce the lack of social dialogue and the failure to comply with the agreements reached in the context of the 2nd Agreement on Employment and Collective Bargaining for 2012, 2013 and 2014, signed on 25 January 2012. The Committee points out once again that social dialogue is essential in normal times and becomes even more so in times of crisis. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report the manner in which the experience and views of the social partners have been taken into account in the formulation and implementation of employment policy measures. The Government is also requested to state to what extent consultations have been held with representatives of the persons affected by the measures taken, particularly young persons, to enable an evaluation of the effective application of Article 3 of the Convention.

Long-term unemployment. Youth employment. The Government indicates that the balance of the results concerning the long-term unemployed in 2011, matching the deterioration in the employment situation, was negative. In the first quarter of 2012, a total of 2,822,500 persons were affected by long-term unemployment, 200,000 more than in the previous quarter. The incidence of long-term unemployment is slightly higher among adults than young people. The situation of young people followed the general trend, with a rise in the rate of youth unemployment. The Government lists the actions taken to improve the employability of young persons and the various job contracts available for young people. The UGT states that the numbers of long-term unemployed exceed those who have been unemployed for one or two years. The labour reform of 2012 will worsen the situation for young people by increasing precarity and reducing protection. The CC.OO. also states that university graduates are competing with those with vocational diplomas in the labour market, thereby leading to a perceived loss in value for vocational training. Many young persons have spent a greater amount of time studying without being able to find a job subsequently. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report up-to-date information on the impact of the measures taken to facilitate the return to the labour market of long-term unemployed persons. The Committee hopes that the information sent by the Government will enable it to examine the quality of employment provided for young people who have been the recipients of special contracts and measures taken to promote youth employment, particularly for young persons with few qualifications.

Integrated labour market policies. The Government states that labour legislation is of general application and hence there are no distinctions of a geographical nature except for specific mechanisms that only apply to certain autonomous communities such as Andalucía and Extremadura, which have higher unemployment rates and to which specific measures relating to agriculture are applied. The CC.OO. states that the crisis has worsened labour-related differences between regions. The unemployment rate has reached alarming levels, exceeding 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 in Andalucía, the Canary Islands and Extremadura; at the same time, the unemployment rate has ranged from 13 to 17 per cent in the Basque Country and Navarra owing to the presence of more industry, the lesser impact of the real estate bubble and their fiscal status. The UGT adds that the autonomous communities with less income and high unemployment rates display higher rates of temporary employment (Andalucía, Extremadura and Murcia). The Committee again requests the Government to include up-to-date information in its next report on the measures taken to reduce regional disparities so as to attain a better balance in the labour market.

Education and vocational training policies. The Government indicates that the Sustainable Economy Act, which was referred to in the observation of 2010, has been supplemented by Organic Act No. 4/2011 of 11 March 2011. The Committee notes the other information sent by the Government on the impact of the measures adopted under the 2011 National Reform Plan and the new measures introduced in 2012. The CC.OO. suggests that an evaluation should be undertaken of the positive impact of the programmes for cooperation with the autonomous communities, whose purpose is to reduce school drop-out rates and increase the provision of vocational training. The CC.OO. recalls that the renewal of the tripartite agreement on vocational training is pending and regrets that changes have been made unilaterally to the training model through the labour reform of February 2012. The Committee recalls the close link established in the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments between achieving full employment and decent work and the adoption of innovative education and training policies for jobseekers. The Committee asks the Government to include in its next report up-to-date information on the measures taken to improve qualification standards and coordinate education and training policies with potential employment opportunities. The Committee invites the Government to include information, in the report due in 2013 on the application of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), to enable it to evaluate the manner in which efforts have been intensified, with the cooperation of the social partners, to ensure that vocational guidance and training systems meet the learning and vocational training needs of the most vulnerable groups in the regions worst affected by the crisis.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2014.]