From 380 to 37,400 euros: How much have the unemployed former members of Parliament received?

BarcelonaMembers of the Catalan Parliament are not entitled to unemployment benefits at the end of their term. To prevent them from being left without any income when they leave the chamber, the Parliament has established a compensation system calculated based on the time they held their seat and the salary they received in accordance with their position. The purpose of these compensation payments is to promote the "reintegration into the workforce" of former members: they can only collect them while they have no other income, and they are not recognized in cases where they have "the right to return to a public or private sector from which they are on leave," as stipulated in the Parliament's internal rules. However, unlike the unemployment benefits received by citizens, the operation of this system means that large payments are concentrated in very short periods of time (in no case longer than six months). This was confirmed by ARA in a request for transparency regarding the gross amounts, deadlines, and criteria for these compensation payments.

Of the 29 former deputies from the last legislature who applied for this unemployment benefit, five earned more than 4,000 euros per month; two, more than 4,500; one, more than 5,000; three, more than 6,000; and one, around 7,000 in some months. These figures are far from what an unemployed citizen can receive - the maximum, if the contribution exceeds 2,550 euros, is 1,200 euros for people without children; 1,400 for those with one child; and 1,575 if they have two or more. The remaining deputies earned 3,000 euros or less, all of them in a period of less than a month. In 2015, the law was changed to establish a monthly cap and prevent, as happened under Ernest Benach's mandate, will receive the full amount upon their resignation. In the case of the former speaker of the chamber, for example, and two other members of the board, they received between 120,000 and 170,000 euros when they left. The purpose of this aid is to facilitate the "reintegration into working life" of former deputies and not to compensate them for services rendered.

Comparing the total amounts, the one who received the most money was former Cs deputy Carlos Carrizosa: it was 37,388 euros between June and November, before returning to his firm as a self-employed lawyer, where, as he himself explained in the ARA, is working to reactivate a client portfolio that faded away when she entered politics in 2012. It is a similar case to that of Jordi Orobitg (ERC), a member of parliament between 2015 and 2021, who returned to his own office after exhausting his 18.14 compensation.

Second in the ranking is Alba Vergés (ERC), a member of parliament since 2012 and former vice-president of the Parliament, who received 34,500 euros between June and October and is, in fact, the person who ever received the highest monthly amount, around 7,000 euros. Also as a former member of the board, and after two terms in office, former secretary Aurora Madaula (Juntos) received 14,188 euros between June and August. Former president Laura Borràs, on the other hand, did not receive anything. whose record was withdrawn by Parliament due to the corruption case in the ILC.

Third on the list is Carles Castillo (ERC), with 21,023 euros paid between June and November. Of all the deputies, the one who received the least money was Enric Bárcena (Comuns): he was granted a four-day benefit, which translated into 379 euros, given that he entered mid-term. He is now an advisor to Comunes in Parliament. Alongside them are the mayors of Cardona, Ferran Estruch (ERC), and Òscar Aparicio (PSC), of Bisbal de Empordà, who received 2,946 euros because, at the time, they had renounced their municipal salaries. Compensation is also paid when the deputy leaves voluntarily, as did Elsa Artadi (Juntos), who received a total of 6,281 euros for one month in 2022.

Who gave up collecting it all?

Of the 29 deputies who were entitled to compensation, only four waived it before exhausting it. The most notable case is that of Matías Alonso (Cs): he was entitled to up to 36,375 euros and waived it after receiving 3,093. Marina Bravo (Cs) was also entitled to 21,166 euros and received 5,417 euros, because she returned "to the public sector from which she was on leave," according to data requested by this newspaper. Joan García, also from Cs, returned to work from a leave of absence three months before the limit, after receiving 16,352 euros. From Junts, MP Francesc Ten became a senator and, therefore, did not exhaust the benefit either: he received 6,614 euros before landing in the upper house and announcing it on July 25, 2024.

the terms that have passed in the Parliament. The reason? The Parliament's auditor considered that, since benefits are calculated according to salary, the portion of the salary that depends on the MP's place of residence should be counted, which is higher the further away from Barcelona one lives. This is the portion of the tax-free allowances transferred to the salary, the so-called second transitional provision (which is taxable). The result is that deputies living in Tarragona, Girona, or Lleida also receive more unemployment benefits than those living in Barcelona.

There's also another change in the calculation of time: for former deputies who have not been part of the permanent deputation, the time worked is counted up to the day the chamber is dissolved, not until the start of the new term, as was previously the case. Regarding leaves of absence, since 2015, the law recognizes the right of deputies to receive pay if "their return is not immediate."