The Minister of Labor will address today the increase in the SMI with employers and unions

The meeting, the first since the constitution of the new Executive, will also discuss the repeal of the most harmful aspects of the labor reform

The Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, will meet this Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. with the president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (Cepyme). ), Gerardo Cuerva, and with the general secretaries of CCOO, Unai Sordo, and UGT, Pepe Alvarez, in what will be the first meeting with social agents after the formation of the new Government of Pedro Sánchez.

In this first contact, which will take place at the Ministry of Labor, the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) for 2020 will be addressed and it is likely that the most harmful aspects of the labor reform that may be affected will also be discussed preliminarily. be repealed.
Regarding the SMI, in the programmatic agreement, both the PSOE and Unidas Podemos committed to raising it until it progressively reached 60% of the average salary in Spain, as stated in the European Social Charter, and therefore the SMI would foreseeably be raised. SMI up to 1,200 euros at the end of the legislature.

The President of the Government called for an agreement within the framework of social dialogue to increase the SMI in 2020 and also announced that he would create an Advisory Commission of the Ministry of Labor, made up of experts, unions and businessmen, which will study the evolution of the SMI. For this increase, the CPI, the average national productivity achieved, the increase in the participation of labor in national income and the economic situation will be taken into account.

On the other hand, the declared intention of the Executive is to repeal the most harmful aspects of the 2012 labor reform to recover the "stolen" rights, such as the possibility of eliminating dismissal for absenteeism caused by sick leave and the limitations to the scope temporary of the collective agreement, making it go beyond the provisions contained therein, after the end of its validity and until the negotiation of a new one.

Another point of the labour reform that is expected to be repealed is the priority of application of company agreements over sectoral agreements and the modification of article 42.1 of the Workers' Statute on labour contracting and subcontracting in order to limit subcontracting to specialised services outside the main activity of the company, among others.

New Workers' Statute

The working groups that will be formed by social agents within the framework of the tripartite dialogue will also have to address the development of a new Statute of Workers of the 21st century, although the main union organizations have made it clear that prior to this modification they must be repealed. labor reforms and return to the previous situation.

In terms of contracting, the programmatic agreement included limiting the ability of the company to unilaterally modify the conditions of the contract and reviewing the mechanism for non-application of collective agreements, directing it to salary reductions linked to serious economic causes.

Likewise, the PSOE and Unidas Podemos committed to promoting possible options to reduce duality, favoring the use of discontinuous fixed contracts for cyclical and seasonal activities, and the causes of dismissal will be reviewed.

These measures will be undertaken in parallel with boosting the fight against labor fraud and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of active employment policies and the simplification of the unemployment protection system.

Source: Five Days-El País