Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

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

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), which were included in the Government’s report. The Committee also notes the observations of the General Union of Workers (UGT), of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE), which were received on 1 September 2015. The Committee notes the Government’s reply to the social partners’ observations, which was received on 11 November 2015.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 104th Session, June 2015)

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. Measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis. In its conclusions in June 2015, the Committee on the Application of Standards asked the Government to continue a constructive social dialogue, taking fully into account the experience and views of the social partners with their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies concerning the objectives expressed in Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee on the Application of Standards also asked the Government, in line with the Convention, to evaluate, together with the social partners, the results of employment policy, including, when appropriate, the establishment of programmes for the implementation of employment policy; and to focus on guaranteeing the largest consensus on programmes linked to vocational training and continue the dialogue with the social partners on vocational training for youth and the unemployed on the basis of strong public services. The Government emphasizes in its report the importance of social dialogue which has been a constant element during an especially intense period of reforms in which it has always sought to reach agreement with the social partners. The Government describes the matters covered by the “Agreement on proposals for tripartite negotiations to strengthen economic growth and employment”, signed on 29 July 2014, between the Government, the employers’ organizations (the CEOE and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CEPYME)) and the trade unions (the CCOO and UGT). The Government regrets that no new tripartite agreement has been signed in the area of training but underlines the proposals and the work of joint analysis carried out with the social partners on the matter and highlights the efforts made to simplify the types of employment contracts. The CEOE indicates that it participated actively in the process of negotiation of the Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment Strategy 2013–15 and in the formulation of the Youth Guarantee System. The employers’ organizations continue to call for flexibility in contracts until the unemployment rate falls to an acceptable level. The CEOE adds, with regard to the abovementioned strategy, that it had been planned to set up an inter ministerial committee and a working group composed of the social partners. However, even though the inter-ministerial committee was set up with the participation of the autonomous communities, the social partners had still not been invited to participate. The CCOO and the UGT observe that tripartite dialogue resumed when the system of labour relations had already been changed. The biggest achievement of the tripartite agreement of July 2014 was the Extraordinary Programme for Employment Activation, which partially accommodates the trade union demand to provide better protection for unemployed persons facing the greatest difficulties in finding employment. The trade union confederations indicate that three programmes – the Annual Employment Policy Plan 2015, the Spanish Employment Activation Strategy and the Common Portfolio of Public Employment Services – were submitted in a document already agreed upon with the Autonomous Communities and giving a ten-day period for sending observations. The Government did not accept any of the observations made. As regards the participation of the social partners in the evaluation of the impact of the measures adopted on employment, the trade union confederations point out that the Government is disregarding the conclusions of the supervisory bodies, opting to request the secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to carry out an evaluation of the 2012 labour reform without involving the social partners. The Committee once again refers to the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, in which it is emphasized that social dialogue is essential in normal times and becomes even more so in times of crisis. The employment instruments require member States to promote and engage in genuine tripartite consultations (paragraph 794). The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the social partners participate in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of employment policies to continue to overcome the negative impact of the crisis on the labour market.

Labour market trends. Youth employment. The Government indicates in its report that in 2013 the total number of unemployed persons fell by 85,400, a decrease for the year which had not occurred since the second quarter of 2007. In 2014, this situation was maintained, given that an increase in employment was observed, even though the unemployment rate stood at 24.5 per cent (25.4 per cent for women and 23.7 per cent for men). In July 2014, registered unemployment had affected 4,419,860 persons (2,094,322 men and 2,325,538 women). The Government recognizes that job losses during the crisis affected young people in particular (the youth unemployment rate was 53.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2014). In February 2013 the Government launched the Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment Strategy 2013–15 and, in July 2014, the Youth Guarantee System. The trade union confederations appreciate that there has been an increase in employment since 2014; however, they observe that Spain has the highest youth unemployment rate in the European Union, many people over 55 years of age remain unemployed and in general employment is precarious, seasonal and badly paid. The jobs recovery is occurring in sectors of a markedly seasonal nature, such as tourism and commerce. The Committee requests the Government once again to submit an evaluation, with the participation of the social partners, of the measures implemented to reduce youth unemployment and promote durable employment for young workers, particularly the most disadvantaged categories of young people. The Committee also requests the Government to provide up to date information on the measures taken to facilitate the return to work of long term unemployed persons. The Committee hopes that the evaluation of the employment measures will show the impact on job creation of the Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment Strategy and the Youth Guarantee System, particularly for young persons with low skill levels.

Education and vocational training policies and programmes. The Government indicates in its report that the strategic objectives of the occupational reform for employment adopted in July 2014 are to ensure the exercise of the right to training of the most vulnerable workers, whether employed or unemployed; the effective contribution of training to the competitiveness of enterprises; and efficiency and transparency in the management of public resources. The key elements of this reform were regulated in Royal Decree-Law No. 4/2015 of 22 March 2015, concerning the urgent reform of the vocational training system for employment in the labour sphere. The Government underlines that this new vocational training model is being adopted at a time when the trend towards economic recovery is strengthening (after six quarters of GDP growth and an estimate of about 3 per cent annual growth from 2015 to 2018), which should mean that the good economic forecasts should translate in the labour market into employability for workers and business competitiveness. The CEOE and the IOE indicate that the reform of vocational training was adopted without the consensus of the social partners, whose involvement is limited to participation in governance of the system, strategic planning and design of training. The social partners do not participate in the management of funds or in the delivery of training. The UGT proposes that vocational training should be extended to the most disadvantaged categories, particularly older long-term unemployed persons. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the results of measures taken to improve skill levels and to coordinate education and training policies with potential employment opportunities, particularly for specific categories of workers and the regions most affected by the crisis.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2017.]