Pepe Álvarez places the reform of Díaz’s dismissal in the context of the “electoral campaign”

The general secretary of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, commented this Monday that the proposal of the Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, to modify the dismissal for economic, technical, organizational and production reasons in order to prevent companies from laying off in adverse economic situations, must be understood within the framework of an “electoral campaign”.

“I believe that we must place ourselves in the middle of an electoral campaign, that has a long duration and must be seen from that perspective“said Álvarez during a round table, a comment to which the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, agreed.

However, Álvarez recalled that the European Committee of Social Rights (CEDS) recently issued a ruling on the lawsuit that UGT filed against Spain due to the low cost of dismissal in the country. According to the union leader, this ruling will “be placed” in the same line as other sentences in similar cases in other countries and will agree with UGT.

“The resolution, at this time, cannot be made public, but it will say that it is a system that It is not approved with the common system of the countries of the European Union and, in that context, it seems reasonable that two things can be done: publish it and have the judges decide how they are going to interpret it and, therefore, apply it until we reach jurisprudence in accordance with their criteria or that the Government, The social agents, the economic agents at a table let’s conclude that as we translate it into Spanish legislation,” emphasized the union leader.

However, the UGT leader expressed his displeasure at addressing these issues in the middle of the election season, an observation that Garamendi also shares. “Whether we like it or not, we are immersed in day-to-day life and in a continuous electoral campaign. Even if we don’t like it, this electoral campaign is underway and, often, These themes emerge as a result of itand these announcements arise as a consequence of the electoral campaign,” he explained in relation to Díaz’s intention to reform the dismissal.

“Social dialogue” vs. “monologue”

Along these lines, during the round table, in which the general secretary of CCOO, Unai Sordo, also participated, the president of the Spanish employers’ association asked the Government “social dialogue and not monologue”.

“I think that the social agents have demonstrated it in a bipartite, and also tripartite, way, that social dialogue is and social dialogue is carried out in times of peace, and it is carried out in times of tranquility, where we can work permanently,” he stressed when asked about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning of political fragmentation in Spain.

At the same time, urged the Government “not to change the rules” after the agreements reached in the tripartite dialogue, such as the one related to labor reform, since “it will not be approved.”

Asked about whether the reduction in working hours, CCOO and UGT have reiterated their intention for the CEOE to be part of the agreement, and Garamendi has indicated that “that’s what it should be”.

However, the president of the employers’ association has stressed that what “cannot be” at a table with the closure already done. “What you can’t do is sit at a table and tell you from above, and this is how it is. Then it won’t be a dialogue, it will be a monologue,” Garamendi criticized.

In relation to deadlines, Sordo indicated that the reduction in work time “should be done quickly” and is committed to a reduction in working time “in the line that we have already established on average in the collective agreements.”

In this regard, Garamendi did not want to comment and ironically said that “you have to ask someone else, because they will directly know the deadlines, what the amount is, what the hours are less or the increases or not.”

For his part, Álvarez explained that, after 40 years without reducing the working day in Spain, “the time” has come to discuss the maximum working day in the country. Although the average day is close to 37.5 hourswhich is the Government’s objective for 2023, Álvarez pointed out that there are still “very important” sectors that maintain a 40-hour work week, such as the hospitality, commerce or services sector.

“Sectors, by the way, that do not compete in foreign markets, sectors that are basically internal,” stressed the union leader.