National mobility policies have not always been compatible with regional employment systems, particularly since the extensive decentralisation process, which began with the emergence of Spain’s democracy. For example, it is difficult for an unemployed person living in Asturias, northern Spain, to gain access to public employment service offers in Extremadura, mid-western Spain. The Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, MTAS [1]) intends to overcome these obstacles by developing a national employment system which would connect all regional, autonomous communities with the state’s central employment services.[1] http://www.mtas.es
New measures aimed at enhancing geographic labour mobility are due to be introduced in Spain in the next three to four months. The measures were first proposed by the Ministry of Labour and aim to reduce incompatibilities between national and regional employment systems.
Decentralisation and employment policies
National mobility policies have not always been compatible with regional employment systems, particularly since the extensive decentralisation process, which began with the emergence of Spain’s democracy. For example, it is difficult for an unemployed person living in Asturias, northern Spain, to gain access to public employment service offers in Extremadura, mid-western Spain. The Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, MTAS) intends to overcome these obstacles by developing a national employment system which would connect all regional, autonomous communities with the state’s central employment services.
This new proposal is part of a wider package of reforms agreed by Spain’s Congress in 2003 and partly transposed to national law with the adoption of the new Employment Law in December 2003 (Law No.56/2003). Since then, the National Institute of Employment (Instituto Nacional de Empleo, INEM) has been renamed Public Employment Service (Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal, SPE) and split into the national SPE and those of the regions. This law also included a provision to establish a new system of coordination, which was to be called the National Employment System (Sistema Nacional de Empleo, SNE) (ES0402102F).
Against this background, the current proposal aims to develop mediation services as a key instrument for fostering employment policy and enabling workers to become more involved in their job seeking activities. Nonetheless, its main objective is, on the one hand, to make all employment offers accessible to everyone, and on the other hand, to enable employers to gain access to a larger pool of workers.
A coordinated employment system
Spain aims to develop one of the most coordinated employment systems in the European Union (EU), thereby minimising the undesirable effects of decentralisation. In recent years, decentralisation has drastically reduced job opportunities in Spain’s regional communities. By reducing the barriers to geographic labour mobility, the government hopes to increase the overall transparency of the labour market, as well as enabling unemployed people to gain access to educational and vocational training in other communities. Currently, in the absence of a coordinated national system, such options are not available.
The national system will rely on the participation of the regional, autonomous communities, the central administration and public services. Although employment will continue to be an exclusive competence of regional governments, the new system will allow for a better coordination of mediation and training policies, and of employment services. In 2004, the rate of geographic labour mobility stood at around 13% of the working population. According to SPE, this rate is greater among workers with relatively high and low education levels. The new mobility policy aims at making flexibility a cornerstone of the modern Spanish labour market. It is also an attempt to reduce the rigid political constraints on geographic mobility of workers.
Collaboration between the central administration and autonomous communities will allow for the creation of a common database of labour supply and demand. The reform also plans to encourage greater cooperation between the public employment services and temporary work agencies, the role of which has become fundamental since they were formally legalised in 1994. Ultimately, these reforms aim at reaching full employment through increased liberalisation and greater flexibility of the labour market, by raising opportunities for geographical labour mobility across Spain.
The Spanish Ministry of Labour intends to make this reform into a decree-law which is due to be implemented before the summer of 2006.
Approval of main trade unions
Two of the larger trade unions, the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) and the General Workers’ Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT), expressed their approval of this new proposal, which includes some of their original ideas. Trade union representatives emphasised that the decree-law allows unemployed people to re-enter the labour market more easily and encourages the participation of the social partners in this process. However, the trade unions highlighted that the reform still lacks a clear definition of the way in which this cooperation will take place.
Mari Luz Castellanos, CIREM Foundation, Spain
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2006), Measures to encourage geographic labour mobility, article.
