Union front to toughen dismissal and limit partial contract

MadridThe two majority unions, CCOO and UGT, have shown unity with concrete proposals on dismissals, housing, part-time contracts, and social dialogue and collective bargaining. This Tuesday, the two organizations have presented a joint plan around these matters that provides a boost for union action, especially on the eve of May Day, but which also serves as a "transmission belt" for those concerns affecting workers that, in the opinion of the union organizations, the political agenda marked by tension is not addressing. "We are facing an initiative [union] that has few precedents," indicated the Secretary of Union Action for CCOO, Javier Pacheco, at a press conference.

Dismissal, the great battle horse

Pacheco has defended the need to occupy the public agenda –this Tuesday's step forward also shies away from keeping pace with Pedro Sánchez's government– on different fronts, and that is why the joint plan goes beyond the reform of dismissals in the State, the great battlehorse of CCOO and the UGT. In fact, this legislative change is pending discussion within the framework of social dialogue, although the Spanish employers' association CEOE has already warned that it will not participate.

The possibility of modifying dismissals in Spain fell by the wayside of the 2021 labor reform negotiation when the aim was to leave behind the major changes made by the PP in 2012. Currently, the Ministry of Labor has not presented any concrete text. For trade unions, dismissals in the State "do not comply" with international labor protection standards. Therefore, they propose that a more rigorous justification for dismissal be required, both for dismissals for business reasons and in the case of unfair dismissal. That is to say, that this decision be "causalized". They also want notice periods, reasoned written communication, and prior hearings to be strengthened so that trade unions gain more weight during the process. Finally, CCOO and the UGT are putting consequences and redress in their sights. They want, for example, the cases of nullity for dismissals without cause or fraudulent dismissals to be expanded. In addition to improving compensation in cases of unjustified dismissals (they do not specify a figure), they also propose an increase in these fixed compensations, thus recovering their deterrent effect and aligning them with those of European countries.

Three more proposals

Access to housing, the reinforcement of part-time contracts and social dialogue and collective bargaining are the other three unitary proposals that CCOO and UGT launched this Tuesday. In the first case, a firm commitment to public housing stock is requested. For example, the creation of a Fund for affordable housing that helps finance between 50,000 and 100,000 properties per year stands out. Regarding social dialogue, not only is its permanence advocated, but the creation of a "social dialogue council" formed by members of the Spanish government and trade union and business organizations is proposed. In addition, a reinforcement of funding is requested to carry out this exercise.

Finally, the unions want what happened with temporary contracts in the State – the decrease in their abuse – to also be extended to part-time hiring, especially when the employee is forced and, therefore, it is not their own choice. Furthermore, this hiring particularly affects women and young people, leaving them in a more precarious situation. Therefore, they want it to be reinforced with the justification of its use, that a greater forecast of working hours be established, as well as a regulation of complementary hours.