Trade unions concerned about Government plans in Brussels

MadridA new player has entered the dialogue table between the Spanish government, trade unions and employers' associations where future reforms of the economy have to be negotiated: the European Commission. This development makes the majority of trade unions uncomfortable. CCOO and UGT, the main Spanish trade unions, have sent an ultimatum to the Spanish government demanding that it send them the documents with the details of the future reforms - among them the labour and the pension reforms - that the executive has to carry out in order to obtain EU anti-pandemic funds.

"These are very important commitments. We demand that the government give us reliable information," said CCOO Secretary General Unai Sordo on Friday after the meeting coordinated by the Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, in which the ministries have informed them of the guiding principles of the future National Investment and Reform Plan. The government has to send it to the European Commission before April 30 and for the moment Calviño has already anticipated 28 texts in draft form within the framework of an "exchange of documents with Brussels".

The plan will include reforms related to active employment policies, mobility, the education system, ecological transition, or taxation, among others, which the executive has not yet specified. However, the fact that the Spanish government has neither made them public nor shared them with trade unions and businesses does not mean it has not done so with the EU. Calviño has acknowledged that the Commission wants "a high degree of depth and detail" and it is precisely this that is making the unions nervous.

Tension over pensions and labour reform

The labour reform and the pension system reform are by far the most controversial, not only between the government and trade unions, but also among coalition partners PSOE and Unidas Podemos. For the moment, neither proposal has been sent to Brussels, Calviño claims, at least in a final form. The unions, however, fear the worst. "CCOO will not assume the previous commitments that the government has with Europe and that are not previously discussed at the social dialogue table," he said Sordo. This position has been backed by UGT. In turn, the employers have called for "prudence and realism at a time when companies are suffering a lot".

As for pension reform, Calviño has reiterated that the objective is "to maintain purchasing power and make the system sustainable in the short and medium term". Despite the fact that it has reaffirmed that the widest possible consensus will be sought, the PSOE's position is well known. It has already linked rises in pensions to CPI, an unpopular move in Brussels. On the other hand, it also intends to link pension benefits to Social Security over the last 35 years at work, rather than 25. This, on a practical level, would mean a 5% cut in the pension bill and is rejected by Unidas Podemos. The PSOE has also floated the idea of making early retirement more difficult and favouring private pension plans.

The other battleground is labour law passed by the People's Party in 2012. The possibility of repealing it completely is becoming increasingly unlikely. However, its more controversial aspects may be repealed, as Spanish Minister of Work, Yolanda Díaz (United We Can), defends. This would also be favoured by trade unions, which want to cut down on temporary contracts and shield collective bargaining, as well as make it harder for companies to fire workers. The government is preparing measures to boost youth employment, offering incentives to companies and facilitating access to training plans for the unemployed and those on furlough.

The headache of "conditionality"

If there is one term that trade unions have not stopped repeating these days, it is "conditionality". CCOO and UGT remind that Europe has not linked access to European funds to any specific reform involving a drastic cut in the pension system or maintaining the current labour laws. In fact, Brussels does not talk about conditions - as Minister Calviño herself admits - and even less so at a time when the pandemic has torn to shreds economic plans and dogmas based on austerity that have reigned in Europe until now.

However, the EU does speak of "ambition" and reminds the Member States that there are recommendations, even before the pandemic. These are recommendations that countries must follow not only to have healthy accounts, according to Brussels, but also to put an end to "structural problems" that the EU detects: employment and pensions. "Plans must be aligned with the roadmap of the recommendations and that is what we are doing," said Calviño, who added that she wants to get them done "the sooner the better". It is well known that European postulates do not fully meet the demands of trade unions and Unidas Podemos; here is where the tensions arise. It will be difficult for the government to continue to fly the flag of "social dialogue" and at the same time make Europe happy.