Bad times for Catalan, also in public administrations. A judge of the administrative court of Barcelona has applied a rigorous The proportionality test regarding the requirement of a B2 level of Catalan to work as a cemetery worker in Vic is problematic, even though it is an upper-intermediate (or advanced-intermediate) level, which, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), means that you are able to express yourself fluently in everyday and professional situations without difficulty. This is the same requirement established in the terms of the call for applications for two multi-skilled driver positions at the Catalan Parliament, which are also being challenged.
In both cases, the root of the problem is the 2010 Constitutional Court ruling on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, which has greatly influenced many ordinary courts, besides spurring on countless pro-Spanish organizations. The ruling prohibits Catalan from being considered the preferred language in various spheres of use and, understanding that the truly marginalized language is Spanish, imposes a very rigid standard of Catalan-Spanish equality, which has already caused problems in sectors such as education and the civil service. Since then, many regulations and administrative acts adopted by regional governments with their own official languages, controlled by the right and far right, have eliminated or lowered the previous standards of protection with regressive measures motivated by policies resistant to linguistic pluralism.
Leaving aside whether that assessment was made in bad faith, the fact remains that by 2025 judges will already know which language is weak and marginalized. According to the Survey of Linguistic Uses of the Population, the habitual use of Catalan has fallen from 36.1% to 32.6% between 2018 and 2023. The number of people who understand, speak, read, and write Catalan remains high, but with slight declines in some skills, for example, reading, writing, and speaking, compared to 85.5% in 2018. Catalan is also declining in intergenerational transmission and within the home, according to other studies.
It should be noted that the offensive in the area of public employment is not new. A few years ago, Ciudadanos (Citizens) proposed an "anti-discrimination clause"—modifying Article 56 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees—so that knowledge of non-Castilian official languages would not be an "entry barrier," but rather a merit whose weight would be proportional to the needs of each region and the characteristics of each job. At that time, Albert Rivera's party focused heavily on doctors in the public healthcare system, and their proposal was prompted by another Supreme Court ruling in 2013—related to the ruling on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia—which declared constitutional the Balearic law promoted by José Ramón Bauzá that eliminated the general requirement of a certain level of Catalan proficiency in the Balearic Islands. The Constitutional Court found the law justified in a context "of widespread implementation of knowledge of Catalan in the public service of the territorial area and in [Balearic] society" and "due to the lack of preferential treatment of Castilian over Catalan."
Speaking of doctors, the indicators in Catalonia are devastating: although regulations for obtaining a permanent public sector position in the Catalan government's healthcare system require a certain level of Catalan (for example, C1), in practice many professionals, who are hired directly or as temporary staff, do not have to meet this requirement, or there are exceptions. According to Plataforma per la Llengua (Platform for the Language), 13% of doctors say they "do not understand Catalan." Complaints from Catalan-speaking patients who have not been treated in Catalan, or whose right to choose their language has not been guaranteed by the system, have multiplied. The Catalan government has already acknowledged the need for a specific plan for the healthcare system to guarantee the knowledge and use of Catalan.
First and foremost, the Constitutional Court, in its current configuration, and ordinary judges as well, must come to terms with reality and return to the wisdom of the past. The official and distinct status of languages other than Spanish is, and must be, a determining factor not only for the acceptance of their validity and effectiveness as a normal means of communication within (and among) public authorities, but also in their relations with private entities. Furthermore, the reasonableness and necessity of assessing knowledge of these languages as a general requirement for access to a public administration position must be recognized, based on criteria of effectiveness and the geographical reach of their use. Only in this way can we ensure that public employees perform their duties adequately and are of service to the citizens they serve.
