Employers praise Feijóo for calling absenteeism a "cancer"

BarcelonaThe president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, has celebrated the “sensitivity” of the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to the “problem” of labor absenteeism. Garamendi has advocated for “sitting down and talking with everyone” to tackle what has become the main battleground for Spanish employers.

Feijóo described labor absenteeism and sick leave as a "cancer" on Tuesday and suggested that people who do not go to work should not be paid the same as those who do. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has described the PP politician's proposal from Turkey as "absolutely unfortunate," and has called for not talking about absenteeism but about sick leave or incapacity in order to avoid stigmatizing workers "who get sick and who logically have every right in the world to take sick leave".

In statements to the media this Wednesday, Garamendi estimated the annual cost of sick leave at 33 billion euros. Regarding the proposal to reduce the remuneration of people on sick leave, as Feijóo proposed, the leader of Spanish employers has left it in the hands of negotiations with trade unions within the framework of collective agreements.

The position of the president of the Catalan Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has been similar, who has described absenteeism as "a country problem." "It is not the fault of workers or employers," he stressed, and called for the problem to be "resolved jointly" by all actors. Regarding Feijóo's statements, Sánchez Llibre assured that they "confirm a problem that exists".

Pimec, the Catalan association of small and medium-sized enterprises, stated in a press release that it "shares the philosophy expressed [by Feijóo] regarding the need to address a problem that has a very significant impact on workers, on the country's economy, and especially on business competitiveness." "The fact that a worker receives 100% of their salary when they are on sick leave is exceptional," added the organization chaired by Antoni Cañete, while clarifying that it is "a proposal that employers are already putting forward within the framework of collective bargaining".

Union criticism

As expected, the reaction of the unions to Feijóo's words has been the opposite of that of business entities. The two largest unions in the State, UGT and Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), have lashed out at the PP leader's statements.

In separate statements, the unions accuse the popular leader of confusing unjustified absenteeism with temporary incapacity due to illness and reject any reduction in the remuneration of workers on sick leave. UGT warns that this discourse "criminalizes" those who fall ill, and CCOO denounces that the debate is being conducted "based on falsehoods" and calls for addressing working conditions, risk prevention, and delays in public healthcare.

UGT has warned that "those who confuse absenteeism with illnesses that prevent them from working treat sick people as if they were guilty." The union maintains that medical leave are justified situations linked to health problems and that temporary incapacity cannot be equated with labor absenteeism. The national secretary of UGT de Catalunya, Reyes Solaz, has described the popular leader's statements as "very unfortunate."

For its part, CCOO has denounced that the debate on sick leave is being framed "based on falsehoods" that affect millions of workers. The union's general secretary, Unai Sordo, has emphasized that "people who are on sick leave are suffering from an illness" and has denied that they receive the same income as when they are carrying out their work activities.