UGT congress calls for working time cuts and employment stability

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In March 2002, Spain's UGT trade union confederation held its 38th confederal congress. Cándido Méndez was re-elected as general secretary as part of an expanded executive committee, and delegates approved various new demands in areas such as working time reduction, employment stability and social security.

On 13-16 March 2002, the General Workers' Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT) held its 38th confederal congress in Madrid under the slogan 'Your strength is the union. Our strength is equality' ('Tu Fuerza, la Unión. Nuestra Fuerza, la Igualdad').

The vast majority of the 800 delegates approved the work of the leadership elected at the last congress in 1998 (ES9804251F), with the confederal executive committee receiving the approval of 99.68% of the representatives. The congress elected a new executive committee composed of 13 persons, two more than previously. Of these members, four were newly elected. Cándido Méndez will continue as general secretary, with the support of 79% of delegates. In practice, the general secretary and four other executive committee members have more power than the other eight members. These four are the heads of organisation (Alberto Pérez), trade union action (Antonio Ferrer), equality (Almudena Fontecha) and finance (Antonio Retamino). The position of Almudena Fontecha was reinforced by a reorganisation giving her secretariat for equality responsibility for areas of social integration specific to women, young people and immigrants, to which UGT wishes to give greater importance.

The other committee members are executive secretaries: Pillar Duce (responsible for young people); Josefa Solá (collective bargaining); Teresa Muñoz (training); Dolors Hernández (health and environment); Solitude Ruiz (women); Manuel Bonmatí (international relations); Manuel Mariscal (coordination of regional policies and institutional relations with autonomous communities); and Jesús Pérez (social protection and institutional relations with national authorities).

The congress adopted a number of new proposals. The main one is a demand for a four-day working week, with three days off, or a 35-hour week established by law, both without reductions in pay. Furthermore, emphasis was again placed on employment instability, and UGT has gathered 800,000 signatures in support of its popular legislative initiative (a procedure that allows citizens to present proposals directly to parliament if they are endorsed by a certain number of signatures) on 'stability and safety in employment' (ES0110203N). UGT also called for: compensation of up to 20 days' pay per year of service for employees on the termination of temporary contracts; measures to combat the labour market segregation of women; and measures to prevent the abuse of immigrant workers. UGT considers that the number of temporary contracts, which represent 33% of all employment in Spain, can be reduced by a third if all the fraudulent temporary contracts are converted into permanent ones.

UGT also called for:

• minimum pensions to be set at 50% of the average income rather than 75% of the minimum wage, as now;
• a review of other forms of funding for pensions, such as direct and indirect taxation;
• a guaranteed right to early retirement and a reduction in the current penalties for retiring before the age of 65;
• social security contributions to be considered in family terms, with contributors able to share them with partners who look after children for a number of years;
• the creation of affordable housing, which will facilitate the geographic mobility of workers;
• an increase in the national minimum wage to EUR 666 per month from the current EUR 442.20 (thought to be the third lowest in the EU - ES0201249N). This is seen as the best way to encourage acceptance of a job by those on unemployment benefit;
• an extension of parental leave entitlement from the current four months to one year;
• a new and more democratic model of business with ethical values, which gives greater participation to workers and manages energy consumption more rationally;
• companies to take into account workers' experience and not only their level of training; and
• an increased presence of trade unions in various institutions.

Finally, UGT confirmed itself as a Socialist and class-based trade union, and affirmed its wish to rebuild good relations with the other main union confederation, the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO).