Protests against Spanish National Action Plan on employment

The CC.OO and UGT trade union confederations have announced joint action against the Spanish Government's National Action Plan on employment, including a major rally on 1 May 1998.

Over the early months of 1998, the CC.OO and UGT trade union confederations have made serious criticisms of the Spanish Government's economic policy (ES9804250F), and in particular its National Action Plan on employment drawn up in response to the EU Guidelines for Member States' employment policies 1998, following the Luxembourg"Employment Summit" in November 1997 (EU9711168F). The unions state that the growth and economic stability reflected in macroeconomic indicators are accompanied by an unequal distribution of wealth, leading to greater social inequality. The unions believe that the current economic situation is favourable to the creation of employment, especially in a context of low inflation.

However, the Government has chosen to reduce the public deficit at the expense of public expenditure, and to adopt a policy of privatisation and liberalisation of strategic sectors. This policy has, it is claimed, been accompanied by neglect of social protection, the public services and employment. The rates of unemployment and labour market participation are very worrying: 20.3% and 39.8% respectively. These figures are indicative of the reality of the employment situation in Spain. The unions also criticise the position of the employers' associations, CEOE and CEPYME, which are calling for a reduction in social security contributions and in personal income tax (IRPF) (ES9803250N) at the expense of reducing the social protection for the unemployed. Moreover, the unions state that the Amsterdam (EU9706133N) and Luxembourg European Council summits held in 1997 showed the need to prioritise combating unemployment. They maintain that without employment, social cohesion, solidarity and an appropriate redistribution of wealth, it will not be possible to create a European Union based on democratic values.

In a joint statement, the unions therefore demand measures that will give priority to job creation. These measures include: reducing the working week to 35 hours; a greater effort to increase public and private investment in sectors and companies to generate employment; an effort to specify objectives and budgets for new sources of employment; a policy of incentives for the least-favoured groups in order to encourage their integration into the labour market; an increase in the cover of unemployment benefit; and an effort to create a policy of training and careers guidance for unemployed people. The unions also demand the promotion of secure employment contracts, as agreed in the "April agreements" in 1997 (ES9706211F).

The trade unions have launched a plan of action lasting until autumn 1998, and have announced a major rally for 1 May to make their position known to the public and to put pressure on the conservative Government and the employers.