The value of consensus in the labour reform

BarcelonaThe Minister of Labour and Second Vice-President, Yolanda Díaz, has achieved what only a few weeks ago seemed impossible: to reach an agreement between employers and unions to modify the PP's 2012 labour reform. The agreement comes after weeks of marathon negotiations in which all parties have yielded to build a consensus. The result, therefore, leaves no one completely satisfied. The government and unions have succeeded in making industry-wide agreements again prevail over company agreements, or agreement to be renewed automatically once they expire until a new agreement is signed; now it lapses after one year. On the other hand, the government and unions have had to give up some of their goals, such as preventing companies from disengaging from agreements in certain circumstances. The review of severance pay has also been put on hold for the time being.

Beyond this, an effort has been made to clarify in which cases a temporary contract is justified and subcontracting has been regulated to avoid fraud, as this is one of the main aims of the reform in order to reduce job insecurity. Contracts will also be simplified and permanent contracts will become prevalent. The new regulations will be approved by the Council of Ministers on 28 December so that they can come into force before the end of the year, as the Spanish government promised Brussels. Beyond the content itself, the agreement is a political victory for Pedro Sánchez, who brought Nadia Calviño into the negotiation to control it and reassure Brussels.

This labour reform is the first to be agreed between unions and employers since 2006, with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as president. This is a value in itself, at a time when political consensus, even in contexts such as the pandemic, seems a thing of the past. The controversy surrounding the "repeal" of the labour reform that pitted the PSOE against its partners also seems to be a thing of the past. In the end, it is a matter of specific modifications to what the government considered the "most harmful aspects".

Even so, the text will now have to go to the Spanish Parliament, where parties such as ERC and EH Bildu have already tabled other demands, such as regional or provincial agreements to trump state-wide agreements. The PSOE and Unidas Podemos still have to make a final effort to gain enough votes, because it is unthinkable that the PP would facilitate the approval of a government rule even if it has the endorsement of employers.

Businessmen have had to resist the pressures of the PP and Vox not to agree anything with the executive. Even so, it has not been easy for Antonio Garamendi, who has faced strong internal opposition. Thus, the Madrid employers and, surprisingly, Foment del Treball abstained in the vote on the agreement. The Catalan employers' association, which calls for dialogue to resolve the political conflict, has not aligned itself on this occasion with Garamendi's pragmatism but with the hard and inflexible positions of Madrid businessmen. This is bad news.