Basic Statute of the Civil Service agreed

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In February 1998, the Spanish Government and trade unions finally reached an agreement on the Basic Statute of the Civil Service. The new Statute introduces important changes for civil servants: greater recognition of collective bargaining; a new system of occupational grading and pay scales; and greater functional and geographical mobility.

The Spanish Government and the trade unions have finally reached an agreement on the reform of the employment conditions of civil servants. The negotiation process has been long and complex, often leading to tension between the parties. Although there had been an initial agreement between the Government and the unions on the need to undertake a reform, there were also important disagreements. 1997 was also a conflictual year in the civil service because the Government decreed a wage freeze for civil servants without first obtaining trade union approval (ES9702201N).

Nevertheless, an agreement has finally been reached: on 10 February 1998 the Minister for Public Administration and the general secretaries of the civil service union confederation (Confederación de sindicatos independientes y sindical de funcionarios, CSI-CSIF) and of the public administration federations of the UGT and CC.OO confederations signed the text of the Basic Statute of the Civil Service (Estatuto Básico de la Función Pública). This climate of consensus between the Government and the unions may also lead to the unblocking of the pay dispute: the Government now seems willing to negotiate the recovery of the purchasing power of civil servants' pay, as demanded by the unions (ES9712236N).

The Statute will affect approximately 1.5 million public employees. This figure includes all employees of the central, autonomous (regional) and municipal administrations, with the exception of the armed forces, the state security forces, the general courts and other special bodies.

The Statute has unified the general employment conditions of this large group of workers, who were up to now subject to very diverse regulations, and its objective is to introduce a homogeneous but non-standardised framework of conditions. The different administrations will have a wide margin of freedom to regulate their own specific conditions because the Statute is a text that will provide the foundation for such subsequent "customised" regulation.

The Statute will be submitted to Parliament as a bill in April 1998. The Government and the unions have called for the content of the agreement, which was initially received with some reservations by the opposition parties, to be respected during this process. The only unions to express disagreement are the nationalist unions of the Basque Country (ELA-STV and LAB), which did not participate in the negotiations.

Main contents of the agreement

Greater recognition for collective bargaining

Collective bargaining in government administration has been formally recognised since 1987, though its development was limited because agreements had to be submitted to the Council of Ministers and then follow a series of regulatory steps before they became effective. This paralysed a large part of the agreements that were reached.

The Statute gives far clearer recognition to collective bargaining. In accordance with the new regulations, the government administration is forced to comply with the agreements that it reaches with the unions. Only two exceptions are established to this general principle of compulsory compliance: agreements on matters that depend on Parliament and those concerning the very framework of labour relations in the civil service. The Statute also provides for arbitration to resolve any disputes that may arise.

New grading and promotion system

For the first time, the concept of a "professional career" has been introduced into government service by the Statute. Previously there had been a hierarchical scale of 30 points and promotion was limited by the shortage of posts at the upper levels. The Statute tries to separate professional promotion from hierarchical promotion. The objectives are to stop the increase in the number of management posts and to facilitate the recognition of an improvement in professional performance. The professional career will be based on a new system of gradings, in line with increasing qualification, without hierarchical rank. Promotion from one grade to the next - of which there are eight within each level - will be carried out according to merit and length of service in line with criteria laid down by individual administrations. This promotion will be reflected in pay through a grading bonus.

New productivity-linked pay policy

The Statute introduces other important novelties in the area of pay. It eliminates specific bonuses and location supplements and introduces a new productivity bonus that will depend on appraisal of work performance.

Greater functional and geographical mobility

The functional and geographical mobility of civil servants is considerably increased by the Statute. Jobs are classified into generic positions (for example, resource technician) and particular positions (such as head of maintenance of a ministry unit). Civil servants who occupy generic posts may be transferred to another service unit according to the needs of the administration, providing that it is within the same municipality. In exceptional cases mobility may be outside the municipality but this will be subject to agreement. The legal possibility of mobility between administrations is also opened up, providing that suitable agreements are established.

Regulation of freely appointed posts

The Statute regulates to a certain extent" freely appointed" posts (cargos de libre designación) - ie introducing more discretion in recruitment. This means that particular jobs will be filled by specific competitions, in which 55% of the candidates' score will be based on objective criteria (such as merit and length of service) and 45% will be freely awarded. These posts will have a maximum duration of three years, after which their holders may be removed or transferred.

Commentary

All the political and social interests have agreed on the need to reform the civil service, but reaching a consensus has not been easy. One and a half years of complex negotiations were necessary - first with the autonomous (regional) communities and then with the trade unions - before the agreement on the Statute was reached. As is logical in such a process, the final agreement "does not satisfy anybody completely, but allows everyone to be sufficiently comfortable", in the words of the Minister for Public Administration.

The trade unions have achieved one of their most important demands: a greater degree of recognition for collective bargaining. In exchange for this increase in their negotiating capacity they have accepted greater flexibility over pay and mobility, two points demanded by the administration. A consensus was also reached on a topic of special relevance, the introduction of a new grading system that provides more effective recognition for the improvement of professional performance, according to agreed objective criteria. The regulation of all these aspects is the responsibility of each administration, and the unions will participate in this process. From this viewpoint, the Statute is undoubtedly an important step forward.

From a political point of view, the agreement is of great significance. Since the democratic transition, the reform of the public administration has been pursued by various Governments, but this is the most far-reaching initiative so far. The Statute seeks to introduce a greater degree of efficiency and quality of service into the administration, a common objective of all the agencies involved in the negotiations. The reservations in some political quarters - and also unions - concern the type of public administration that is being put forward, because they feel that the Statute may promote an administration that is less impartial and more dependent on the Government. The regulation of the freely appointed posts is therefore the most controversial aspect. (María Caprile, Fundación CIREM)