Martín Artiles, Antonio
Reconciliation of work, and family life for women in Spain
17 Maijs 2005
The participation rates of women are rising, but are still some way behind
those of men. The problems of reconciling work and family life hinder the
integration of women into the labour market. The UGT has criticised the
transposition of the European Directive through the Law on reconciliation of
work with family life. The law interprets that the problems of work-life
balance are individual rather than collective. The trade union view is that
they should be considered as a collective problem because they involve a loss
of equal rights, lower the birth rate and threaten the economic future of the
country.
The CEOE and the Ministry of Labour consider their positions on reforming the labour market
09 Maijs 2005
The CEOE has proposed a new type of contract of fixed duration. The Ministry
of Labour responded with the idea of penalising temporary employment by
increasing employers' unemployment contributions for temporary contracts and
reducing them for permanent contracts.
Intersectoral bargaining framework agreed for 2005
24 Aprīlis 2005
In March 2005, the Spanish social partners reached an intersectoral agreement
providing guidelines for lower-level collective bargaining in 2005 , as they
had done in the three previous years. The agreement contains two main new
features: it includes the possibility of being extended to cover 2006; and it
lays down measures to control unjustified absence from work. The agreement
reflects the concern of the social partners about improving competitiveness
and the quality of employment, and provides for continuing pay moderation.
Minimum wage agreement introduces guarantee clause
15 Februāris 2005
In December 2004, the Spanish government and social partners agreed to
increase the national minimum wage by 4.5% in 2005, and to apply a wage
guarantee clause whereby, if inflation exceeds the increase in the minimum
wage, the latter will be adjusted upwards. However, the CEOE employers'
confederation later withdrew its support, arguing that the wage guarantee
clause is inflationary. The situation remained unresolved at the end of
January 2005.
Unions' electoral strength exceeds membership
13 Februāris 2005
The results of the most recent elections of workers' representatives in
Spain, published in late 2004, confirm the dominance of the CC.OO and UGT
trade union confederations. It is their electoral strength that is regarded
as the source of the legitimacy and representativeness of Spanish trade
unions, rather than their membership, which is low but stable, at around 17%
of the wage-earning population.
Philips cuts employment at three Barcelona factories
06 Decembris 2004
In November 2004, Spanish trade unions criticised the policy of workforce
reduction and relocation conducted by the Dutch multinational Philips at its
plants in Barcelona. The unions have called for the intervention of the
regional government in order to avoid the closure of three plants, asked the
city council not to change the permitted use of the sites and demanded
employment guarantees.
Redundancies announced in automotive industry
29 Jūnijs 2004
In April 2004, three major large motor manufacturers, Renault, Nissan and
Volkswagen, have recently presented redundancy procedures in their Spanish
operations.
Female employment and EU employment policy
28 Jūnijs 2004
In 2004, EU employment policy appears to have contributed to increasing
women's participation in the Spanish labour market, while EU equal
opportunities policy is also having an effect on women's employment. However,
some of the new employment for women is temporary, precarious and in low-pay
sectors. These are among the findings of recent research and analysis in
Spain.
Ground-breaking agreement signed at SEAT
28 Jūnijs 2004
A ground-breaking collective agreement was signed in May 2004 at the SEAT
motor manufacturing plant in Martorell, Spain, SEAT . The main innovative
features are a five-year duration, the introduction of autonomous work
groups, the use of 'hours pools' to adapt working time to changes in demand,
and new family-friendly leave arrangements.
Supreme Court ruling improves employment situation of illegal immigrants
10 Jūnijs 2004
In April 2004, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled - in a case brought by the
CC.OO trade union confederation - that restrictions placed on the granting of
work permits to immigrants in 2002 were invalid. The ruling should improve
the employment situation of a large number of illegal foreign workers.