Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) and the General Union of Workers (UGT), received on 11 August 2017 and 17 August 2017, respectively. The Committee also notes the observations of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE), supported by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), included in the Government’s report. It also notes the Government’s replies to the previous observations, included in its report.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Labour market trends and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the adoption of the National Reform Programme (PNR) of 2017, in the framework of the coordination of the economic and budgetary policy, the “European Semester”. The Government indicates in the PNR that the positive impact of the labour reform and other structural reforms have resulted, in recent years in Spain, in a steady pace of job creation and unemployment reduction. The aim of the PNR is to consolidate this trend and advance towards more inclusive and better quality employment through three concrete objectives: (1) increase the effectiveness of the National Employment System (SNE); (2) increase the effectiveness of training; and (3) improve the efficiency of the plans on activation and integration into employment. With regard to the labour market trends, the Government indicates in its report that in 2016, in annual terms, the trend towards job creation and unemployment reduction that started in the second half of 2014 was established. The Government adds that this trend has continued throughout 2017. In particular, according to data from the Economically Active Population Survey of the National Statistics Institute (INE), in the second quarter of 2017 the rate of job creation accelerated by 2.8 per cent owing to the growth in temporary employment. The growth rate of permanent employment remained steady at 1.8 per cent year on year, while the growth rate of temporary employment sped up, reaching 7.7 per cent per year. The employment rate among the 16–64 age group is 62.04 per cent and the activity rate is 75.06 per cent. The Government also indicates that the unemployment rate fell to 17.22 per cent in 2016, 2.78 percentage points less than the previous year, which is the highest fall in unemployment in the past decade. However, in its observations, the UGT maintains that the jobs created are of a precarious and very short-term nature, affecting 25.8 per cent of employees. In this regard, the Committee notes that, according to the Recommendation of the Council of the European Union on Spain’s 2017 PNR, the country has one of the highest percentages of temporary employment in the European Union (EU) and many temporary contracts are very short. In addition, according to the Recommendation, the transition rates from temporary to permanent contracts are very low compared with the average in the EU. In its observations, the UGT also refers to the problem of involuntary bias, indicating that about 1.7 million persons work part time because they have not found full-time employment. For its part, the CCOO notes that in order to develop a good active employment policy it is necessary to have an adequate budget, and expresses its concern that the budget allocation for the active employment policies fell between 2013 and 2017. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing up-to-date information on the measures adopted or envisaged to achieve the objectives of the Convention and, in particular, on how these have helped the beneficiaries obtain full, productive and sustainable employment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on the development of the labour market, particularly on the rates of the economically active population, employment and unemployment, disaggregated by sex and age.

Youth employment. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that, according to data from the Economically Active Population Survey, the unemployment rate for the 16–24 age group decreased from 48.3 per cent in 2015 to 44.4 per cent in 2016. In 2016, the rate of young persons under 25 years without employment and not studying dropped 1.2 percentage points compared with 2015. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report in relation to the measures taken within the framework of the Strategy for Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment 2013–16 and the national Youth Guarantee system with a view to promoting and supporting the integration of young persons into the labour market. In this regard, the Government refers to the adoption of Royal Decree Law No. 6/2016, of 23 December 2016, on urgent measures to boost the national Youth Guarantee system, which introduced significant changes to increase young persons’ registration and access to the system. For example, jobseekers are automatically registered in the system by simply registering or renewing their status in a public employment service if the requirements are met, with retroactive effect on the date of such registration or renewal. In addition, in 2015 the maximum age of beneficiaries was extended, on an exceptional basis, up to 29 years, while the youth unemployment rate among 25–29 year-olds continues at above 20 per cent. The Government adds that, as a result of such measures, the number of users registered in the system rose from 36,678 young persons in March 2015 to 815,077 in August 2017. However, the UGT states in its observations that the number of young persons active in the labour market has fallen due to discouragement, and emigration among young persons has increased owing to the lack of opportunities for quality employment. In its reply, the Government states that the youth unemployment rate has fallen by 15 points in the past three years and that permanent recruitment of young persons has increased by 30 per cent compared with 2011. The UGT, however, states that it was neither consulted nor informed about the measures adopted within the framework of the Youth Guarantee plan. In response, the Government indicates that, following the adoption of Royal Decree Law No. 6/2016, the workers’ organizations formed part of the executive committee for the follow-up and evaluation of the national Youth Guarantee system, in which they participated, on 13 December 2016 and 22 June 2017, in the analysis and assessment of activities carried out. The Government adds that the information on the actions performed within the framework of the Youth Guarantee plan is also reproduced in the annual reports presented to the Employment Committee of the European Commission. The Committee requests the Government, in its next report, to provide an evaluation, carried out in consultation with the social partners, of the employment measures to ascertain the specific results achieved through the Strategy for Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment and the Youth Guarantee system, in particular for young persons with few qualifications.

Long-term unemployed. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government refers in its report to the implementation of various measures aimed at increasing the employment rate of the long-term unemployed, such as extending the implementation period of the extraordinary Programme for Employment Activation until 28 April 2018 and of the Employment Retraining Programme (PREPARA) until the unemployment rate is under 18 per cent. The Government reports that the Joint Action Programme for the Long-term Unemployed was adopted on 18 April 2016 at the Sectoral Conference for Employment and Labour Affairs, which provides for individual attention and close monitoring of the actions carried out with the long-term unemployed to help them to find work. The programme’s first objective is to assist around 1 million long-term unemployed in the first three years, giving priority to those between 30 and 54 years of age. The Committee notes that the UGT states that contributions from the workers’ organizations were not taken into consideration in the development of the new programme and that they are not aware of its impact. The Government points to the extension of the extraordinary Programme for Employment Activation and the PREPARA, as well as the adoption of the Joint Action Programme for the Long-term Unemployed, indicating that both have been subject to dialogue and consensus with the social partners. Lastly, the UGT emphasizes that the rate of long-term and very long-term unemployment remains steady and that in the first half of 2017, 54.4 per cent of unemployed persons had been looking for work for over a year and 40 per cent for over two years. The Committee requests the Government, with the participation of the social partners, to provide an evaluation of the measures taken to facilitate the return to the labour market of the long-term and very long-term unemployed.

Education and vocational training programmes. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government has provided information in its report on the measures adopted to improve the level of qualifications and coordinate training and education policies with potential employment opportunities, and the outcome of those. To that end, the Government refers to the adoption of Act No. 30/2015, of 9 September 2015, which regulates the vocational training system for employment in the world of work. The strategic objectives of this Act include: ensuring the exercise of the right to training of the most vulnerable workers, whether employed or unemployed; effective contribution of training to the competitiveness of enterprises; efficiency and transparency in the management of public resources; and strengthening of collective bargaining concerning the alignment of training options with the demands of the production system. The Government indicates that in 2015 the National Qualification Strategy was developed in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which highlights the main challenges for Spain with regard to training, such as early school drop-out, the high number of jobseekers without basic qualifications, and the mismatch between skill demand and supply. The Government also refers to the phased application of the Organic Act on the Improvement of the Quality of Education (LOMCE), aimed at dealing with those challenges. The Government adds that the rate of early school drop-out has decreased, falling in the first quarter of 2017 to 18.99 per cent and that the percentage of young persons between 20 and 29 years of age with a low level of education stands at 31.7 per cent, the lowest in the past decade. However, the employment rate of recent university graduates continues to be one of the lowest in Europe owing, inter alia, to the poor relationship between businesses and universities, which does not allow for university degrees to be matched with business demands. The Committee notes that the UGT emphasizes the absence of dialogue and bargaining in the education field, particularly, in relation with the LOMCE, the implementation of which is frozen. The UGT also states that the mismatch between skill supply and demand persists. The CEOE maintains that the reform of the vocational training system for employment in the labour sphere was rolled out with objections from the social partners and their role is limited in the new model. The Committee requests the Government to continue sending information on the measures adopted or envisaged, in cooperation with the social partners, to improve the level of qualifications and coordinate education and training policies with potential employment opportunities.

Article 3. Consultation with the social partners. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to indicate the manner in which the social partners participated in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of employment policies to continue to overcome the negative impact of the crisis in the labour market. The Government indicates that the observations of the employers’ organizations, the CEOE and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (CEPYME), and the workers’ organizations (the CCOO and UGT), were taken into account in the development of the 2017 PNR. Furthermore, the Government indicates that a new framework for active labour market policies, the Spanish Strategy for Employment Activation 2017–20 is currently being designed, which will be based on a broad dialogue with the regions, social partners and all interested parties. The Government adds that the social partners are regularly informed and share their views on matters related to employment within the tripartite consultative bodies established for that purpose at the level of the State, autonomous entities and local authorities. The UGT and CCOO maintain that the social partners are not consulted prior to the adoption, implementation and evaluation of the employment policies. The CCOO adds that, while social dialogue forums on employment have been set up and it participates in various bodies involved in policy decision-making, the social partners have a narrow margin of influence over those policies as their proposals are not taken into consideration. In response, the Government reiterates that social dialogue was permanently in place during an intense period of reform in which it has always tried to seek agreement with the social partners. The UGT, on the other hand, emphasizes the non-compliance with the regulations concerning the holding and periodicity of the meetings of the General Council of the National Employment System and the General Council of the State Employment Public Service. The CEOE indicates that the social partners cannot make observations before the PNR has been developed and request that they more actively participate in its design, application and evaluation. The Committee requests the Government to continue sending detailed information on the manner in which the social partners participate in the design, implementation and evaluation of the employment policies.