Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Spain (Ratification: 1970)

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The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), and of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE) and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CEPYME), transmitted with the Government’s report. The Committee also notes the Government’s reply to these observations, included in its report.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation and evaluation of the active employment policy. The Committee notes the numerous reforms introduced by the Government, both in legislation and in relation to the modernization of active employment policies, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRR), of 27 April 2021. The Plan includes reforms and investment in public employment policies to guarantee a dynamic, resilient and inclusive labour market, with emphasis on the training of workers in the areas required by the transformations in the Spanish economy. The Plan also includes a component on the promotion of women’s employment and gender mainstreaming in all active employment policies. In this context, the Committee notes the adoption of the Employment Act No. 3/2023, of 28 February, which establishes the framework for the structuring of public employment policies and regulates the whole series of structures, resources, services and programmes of which the National Employment Service is composed. In accordance with section 4 of the Act, the objectives of the employment policy include: (i) promoting conditions for the creation of inclusive labour markets in which effective equality of opportunity and non-discrimination in access to employment are guaranteed; (ii) stimulating the creation of good quality and stable jobs to facilitate the transition towards a more efficient labour market that guarantees adequate levels of economic well-being for workers; (iii) the maintenance in employment and the vocational progression of employed persons; (iv) the broadening and improvement of the skills, qualifications, competences and employability of the unemployed and of employed persons; and (v) the promotion of viable entrepreneurship and social economy initiatives. Royal Legislative Decree No. 1/2023, adopted on 10 January, also reforms incentives for recruitment with a view to increasing the numbers of permanent and good quality jobs. The Committee further notes the adoption of the Spanish Strategy of Active Employment Support 2021–24, drawn up with the participation of the social partners and in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities. The Strategy coordinates the activities of the various entities of the National Employment Service and establishes the strategic objectives of focussing on people and enterprises, coherence in the transformation of production, the results-based approach, the improvement of the capacities of public employment services and the governance and cohesion of the National Employment Service. The Government indicates that evaluation is a fundamental pillar of the new Strategy, which changes the paradigm of earlier strategies by stepping away from the use of indicators focussing exclusively on the distribution of funding towards a results-based, transparent and accessible evaluation model. With a view to the achievement of the objectives set out in the Strategy, various Annual Employment Policy Plans have been adopted, as well as the recent Annual Plan for the Promotion of Decent Employment 2023, which specifies the active employment and labour placement policies implemented by the Autonomous Communities in the exercise of their competences, as well as the indicators to be used to assess the extent to which the objectives are achieved. Finally, the Committee notes the adoption of Royal Decree No. 818/2021 of 28 September, which updates and harmonizes the regulation of these programmes with a view to ensuring greater efficiency, adaptation to the changing conditions on the labour market and the new requirements of the digital and green environment.

The Committee notes that, in their observations, the CEOE and the CEPYME indicate that the Strategy and Royal Decree No. 818/2021 are continuing along the same lines and do not go beyond the approach that places public employment services as the main protagonists of active employment policies. They therefore place emphasis on the need to promote public–private collaboration to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness. In this regard, the Government indicates that public–private collaboration is incorporated in active employment policies in various areas, such as the labour market analysis processes, the identification of training needs and employment intermediation. The Committee also notes that both the CCOO as well as the CEOE and CEPYME emphasize that one of the most relevant deficits of employment policies continues to be their lack of evaluation. They indicate that the Strategy and the Annual Employment Policy Plan 2022 were drawn up without first evaluating the impact of the measures implemented within the context of the Strategy and the previous Plans. The CCOO adds that, although important tools have been adopted and reformed, including evaluation as a fundamental pillar, the procedures, tools and determination of objectives and indicators have not yet been undertaken or agreed. The CCOO and the employers’ organizations also consider that they did not participate in the development of the Annual Plans and reiterate that they are confined to establishing a list of services and programmes to be implemented by the Autonomous Communities. In response, the Government indicates that it is planned to undertake an evaluation of the Strategy 2021–24 and the various Annual Plans and adds that the contributions of the social partners were taken into consideration in the formulation of the Annual Plans. In this regard, the Committee recalls that Article 2(a) of the Convention establishes the requirement to “decide on and keep under review, within the framework of a co-ordinated economic and social policy, the measures to be adopted for attaining the objectives” of full, productive and freely chosen employment. It is essential to ensure that policies are monitored and evaluated in relation to the established targets and indicators. In this regard, the Committee emphasizes that a comprehensive, participative and transparent monitoring and evaluation mechanism enables all the parties concerned to identify achievements and challenges in meeting policy objectives. The results achieved may contribute to setting a baseline for future employment policies (2020 General Survey, Promoting employment and decent work in a changing landscape, paragraphs 112, 153 and 154).

With reference to the process of the formulation of the Employment Act, the CCOO reports that contributions were made to various preliminary versions, some of which were not taken into account, and it emphasizes the need for the contributions to be taken into account, including those on the need to address jointly the employability, integration and vocational development of people; the requirement of guarantees and controls over private collaborators and on the possibility of acting as placement agencies; the allocation to public employment services, at the level of the Autonomies and the State, of the human, material and technological resources necessary so that they can discharge their functions in a satisfactory manner and can work towards full employment. The Government indicates that some of those proposals could be addressed in the regulations of the Employment Act. Noting the information provided, including the fact that evaluation is considered to be a fundamental pillar of the new Spanish Strategy of Active Employment Support 2021–24, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide an evaluation, undertaken in consultation with the social partners, of the impact of the employment measures adopted to achieve the objectives of the Convention, including those adopted within the framework of the 2021–24 Strategy and the Annual Employment Policy Plans, and particularly on the manner in which they have helped beneficiaries to obtain full, productive and lasting employment.

Labour market trends. The Committee observes that, according to the report of the European Commission on the 2023 National Reform Programme of Spain (SWD(2023) 609 final), following the COVID-19 crisis, the Spanish labour market experienced a solid recovery in 2021 and 2022, achieving an employment rate of 69.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022. Nevertheless, it is still below the European Union average of 74.9 per cent. Moreover, although the unemployment rate fell in 2022 to 12.9 per cent (the lowest since 2008), it continues to be double the European Union average (6.1 per cent), with structural pockets of vulnerability, related to the very high level of youth and long-term unemployment and a rate of temporary employment that is still high in the public sector. The Committee notes that the CCOO emphasizes that, despite the increase in employment and the reduction of unemployment following the pandemic, the social crisis and the weaknesses of the Spanish model of production persist. In particular, the CCOO considers that: (i) the number of the unemployed is still very high, particularly for the long-term unemployed; (ii) almost half of the unemployed have a low educational level (45 per cent); (iii) the temporary employment rate continues to be very high; (iv) employment creation is still concentrated in sectors that are not very productive; (v) gender gaps persist in the world of work (women account for 53.6 per cent of the unemployed) and the labour market continues to be segregated; (vi) the level of unemployment protection is still low (1.16 million unemployed persons are excluded from the unemployment protection system); and (vii) poverty levels are very high. With reference to the latter, the Committee notes, on the basis of the report of the European Commission, that the percentage of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion is 27.8 per cent, one of the highest rates in the European Union (6.1 percentage points above the European Union average). Persons born outside the European Union are particularly vulnerable, as the gap between them and persons born in Spain is 34.2 percentage points. The report emphasizes that the poverty rate among employed persons is also the highest in the European Union (34.2 per cent, compared with 20.8 per cent for the European Union). The Committee requests the Government to indicate how it is considering responding to these challenges, taking into account that the objective of the promotion of full, productive and freely chosen employment has to be pursued with a view to stimulating economic growth and development, and overcoming unemployment and underemployment, as well as raising levels of living. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical data on labour market trends, and particularly on the rates of the active population, employment and unemployment, disaggregated by sex and age. While noting the high proportion of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted to address poverty within the context of the national employment policy.

Measures to promote employment stability. The Committee notes with satisfaction the measures adopted to combat one of the major challenges of the Spanish labour market: the high levels of temporary employment and the large percentage of short-term contracts. In this respect, the Committee notes the adoption of Royal Legislative Decree No. 32/2021 of 28 December on urgent measures for labour reform, guarantees of employment stability and the transformation of the labour market, which is based on the agreement reached between the Government and the social partners for the structural reform of the labour market. The new Decree establishes measures to reduce temporary contracts and promote permanent contracts, such as the presumption that contracts are concluded for an indefinite period, the reduction of the types of contracts available and the redesign of disincentives to penalize excessive rotation in very short-term contracts. It also introduces new mechanisms to promote internal flexibility within enterprises with a view to promoting the continuity of stable labour relations and avoiding periods of unemployment, by authorizing enterprises under certain circumstances to suspend contracts temporarily or reduce working hours. In terms of evaluation, the Decree requires an evaluation to be undertaken by January 2025, which will be repeated every two years, of the results of the measures envisaged in the reduction of temporary employment on the basis of an analysis of temporary and open-ended contracts. It also provides that, in the event that no progress is achieved, additional social measures will have to be proposed to the dialogue round table. The Committee notes that the CEOE and CEPYME indicate that the flexibility measures implemented are creating a climate of trust which is reflected in the positive figures for recruitment, especially under open-ended contracts. With reference to the public sector, the Government indicates that the adoption of Act No. 20/2021 of 28 December adopting urgent measures for the reduction of temporary public employment, which introduces measures to prevent the constant coverage of jobs by temporary personnel and to ensure that such personnel are only engaged for genuinely temporary tasks. The Government also refers to the conclusion of various agreements with unions with the objective of the implementation of a process of making employment more stable and improving conditions of work in the public sector, reducing temporary employment in sectors that are considered to be priorities, such as health, education and the administration of justice. Moreover, with the objective of addressing the lack of stability in scientific occupations, which has resulted in recent years in the exodus of research personnel from Spain, Legislative Decree No. 8/2022 of 5 April was adopted issuing regulations on a general scheme for permanent employment contracts in the Spanish science, technology and innovation sector.

The Committee notes that, according to the report of the European Commission referred to above, although, following the reforms described, the level of temporary work in the private sector fell rapidly from 23.6 per cent in 2021 to 18.5 per cent in 2022, the percentage of fixed-term contracts in the public sector continues to be high (31.4 per cent in 2022). The report also emphasizes that temporary workers continue to be more vulnerable to material and social deprivation than conventional employees (20 per cent, compared with 6.9 per cent). Finally, the Committee notes the emphasis placed by the CCOO on involuntary part-time work (49.3 per cent of persons working part time do so because they have not been able to find a full-time job). The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by age and sex, on the nature and impact of the measures adopted, in collaboration with the social partners, to address the still high levels of temporary employment in the public and private sectors. It also requests the Government to provide specific information on the reasons why, despite the recent reforms, the rate of temporary employment in the public sector has not been reduced significantly. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted to address the high levels of involuntary part-time employment.

Youth employment. The Committee notes the emphasis placed by the CCOO in its observations on the fact that the youth unemployment rate continues to be much higher than the national average (23.3 per cent), while the employment rate (40.4 per cent) and the activity rate (52.7 per cent) continue to be lower. The Committee also notes that, according to the report of the European Commission referred to above, the percentage of young persons between the ages of 15 and 29 years who are not studying, working or receiving training fell from 17.3 per cent in 2020 to 12.7 per cent in 2022, but continues to be higher than the European Union average (11.7 per cent in 2022). The report also indicates that, although the proportion of young persons under 30 years of age with temporary contracts has fallen, it continues to be higher than the European Union average (45.7 per cent, compared with 35.6 per cent in 2022). The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures adopted with a view to promoting stable employment and the employability of young persons, who continue to be among the priority groups for employment programmes and measures. Among other measures, the Government refers to the implementation of the Youth Plus Guarantee Plan (Plan GP+) 2021–27 on decent work for young persons, with the financial support of the European Union. The principal objective of the Plan GP+ is to take effective action to combat precarious work through training and placement measures, focussing on good quality vacancies that facilitate the stable labour market integration of young persons. The Shock Youth Employment Plan 2019–21, developed in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities, has also been implemented following the conclusion of an agreement signed on 5 December 2018 between the Government and the social partners. The objectives of the Plan included reducing the youth employment rate to 32.5 per cent and finding work for 168,000 unemployed persons under 25 years of age. The dual training and employment programme “Youth Employment – Tandem” (for young persons between 16 and 29 years of age) was implemented, as well as the “First Experience in Public Administrations” programme, which offers a first experience for persons under 30 years of age in the area in which they are qualified. Various initiatives have also been adopted to modernize public employment services and improve their operation in relation with the transition of young persons from education to the labour market. With reference to the evaluation of the measures adopted, the Government indicates that it is planned to carry out an evaluation of the National Youth Guarantee System.

However, the Committee notes that the CEOE and the CEPYME consider that the Plan GP+ does not establish specific objectives or offer tangible solutions for the labour market situation of young persons, but only focusses on organizational and instrumental aspects. They emphasize that it is necessary for the Plan to take into consideration the needs of enterprises and to foresee the participation of placement agencies, which provide a professional and effective service. In this regard, the Government indicates that the Plan GP+ establishes 69 specific measures to improve the employability of young persons and promote decent work in various areas, such as vocational guidance, training, the promotion of employment opportunities and entrepreneurship. The Government adds that public–private collaboration is envisaged in each of the areas identified. The CCOO emphasizes that the monitoring and evaluation system for the Plan GP+ has not yet been determined or developed. In its reply, the Government indicates that it is planned to determine the evaluation model for the Plan GP+ with the technical support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and working groups composed of representatives of the social partners and the Autonomous Communities. Finally, the Committee notes that both the CEOE and the CEPYME, as well as the CCOO, emphasize that evaluations have not been carried out of the Shock Youth Employment Plan 2019––21, and that its impact is not therefore known. In view of the concerns expressed by both the employers’ organizations, the CEOE and the CEPYME, and the CCOO, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide an evaluation, undertaken in consultation with the social partners, to ascertain the specific results achieved by the measures adopted with a view to promoting youth employment, including those adopted within the context of the Plan GP+.

Long-term unemployment. The Committee notes, from the report of the European Commission referred to above, that long-term unemployment fell in 2022 (4.8 per cent), but continues to be double the European Union average (2.2 per cent). Moreover, in the fourth quarter of 2022, some 22.7 per cent of unemployed persons were in a situation of very long-term unemployment (that is, 24 months or more). The Government indicates that, with a view to addressing this situation, the Employment Act 2023 reinforces the participation of private and local bodies in active labour market policies. Furthermore, the Reincorpora-t Plan was implemented up to April 2022, which included the adoption of specific coordinated vocational guidance and training measures, and the promotion of employment opportunities and entrepreneurship. The objective of the Plan was to recuperate the labour and social integration potential of certain communities in long-term unemployment. The Committee nevertheless notes that the CEOE and the CEPYME, as well as the CCOO, indicate that evaluations of the Plan have not been carried out, and that its impact is not therefore known. The CCOO adds that there is no data on the long-term unemployed, despite the fact that they are identified as a priority category in employment policies. The Committee also recalls that it has been requesting the Government for five years to provide information on the impact of the measures adopted to combat long-term unemployment. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide an evaluation of the impact of the measures implemented, with the participation of the social partners, to facilitate the return to the labour market of the long-term and very long-term unemployed.

Education and vocational training programmes and policies. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, although 44.8 per cent of the Spanish population between the ages of 30 and 34 years have completed higher education (3.9 percentage points above the European Union average), the employment rate of those who have recently concluded higher education aged between 20 and 34 years is lower in Spain (77.2 per cent) than the European Union average (85 per cent). The employment rate is particularly low for those with a low educational level (only 33.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021), compared with those with an average (53.8 per cent) or high (72.6 per cent) educational level. The highest unemployment rate is for workers with a low educational level (20 per cent), but is 7.8 per cent for those with a high educational level. In this context, the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan provides for the implementation of action to promote the acquisition of new skills for the digital, green and productive transformation, with a view to reinforcing the training and employability of workers. The Committee also notes the adoption of Basic Act No. 3/2022, of 31 March, on the organization and integration of vocational training, which is intended to regulate a system of vocational training and support, capable of responding flexibly to the vocational skills interests, expectations and aspirations of persons throughout their lives and to the skills needed for new production and sectoral requirements. With a view to the achievement of this objective, the Act promotes the dual nature of vocational training and public–private collaboration between various actors, such as administrations, centres and enterprises. The Act also provides for the participation of employers’ organizations and unions at the various levels, including in decision-making processes in relation to vocational training and the evaluation of the operation of the vocational training system. Finally, the Government refers to the development of the Annual Plan for the Evaluation of the Quality, Impact, Effectiveness and Efficiency of the whole of the vocational training system for employment in the field of labour 2020–21, which was submitted to the General Council of the National Employment System, which includes participation by the social partners and the Autonomous Communities. The Committee notes the emphasis by the CCOO in its observations that one of the greatest deficits of further training continues to be the lack of coordination of education and training policies with employment policy. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted, in collaboration with the social partners, to promote the acquisition of the new skills required for the digital, green and productive transformation and with a view to strengthening the training and employability of workers, and particularly the long-term unemployed. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures adopted to ensure the coordination of education and training policies with potential employment opportunities.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Committee notes that, according to the report on SME data of the General Directorate of Industry and SMEs published in September 2023, SMEs (with between 0 and 249 employees) account for 99.8 per cent of the Spanish business environment, with large enterprises (250 employees and over) only representing 0.2 per cent. It also observes that SMEs generated 11,104,539 jobs, compared with large enterprises, which generated 6,515,244. The Committee notes the adoption of a series of measures under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan to promote the adoption of advanced digital technologies with a view to improving the productivity of Spanish enterprises, such as the adoption of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the SME Digitalization Plan 2021–25. Nevertheless, according to the European Commission report referred to above, Spain is continuing to experience a low level of investment in research and development in the telecommunications sector, and enterprise expenditure on research and development is well below the European Union average. The report emphasizes that this all hampers the productivity and competitiveness of Spanish enterprises, and particularly SMEs. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted with a view to improving the business environment in support of the productivity and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, including through the promotion of the skills required for the ecological transition and the digital transformation and increased investment in research and development.

Article 3. Consultations with the social partners. The Committee notes the emphasis placed by the Government on the participation of the social partners in the measures adopted within the context of the various social agreements to address the crisis arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which succeeded in reducing its negative impact on employment. It adds that the current legislation provides for the active participation of employers’ organizations and unions in the design, implementation and evaluation of employment policies. The participation of the social partners occurs through various bodies, such as sectoral conferences and social dialogue round tables, and they are regularly kept informed and express their views on the various initiatives in the different bodies, such as the General Council of the National Employment System and the General Vocational Training Council. By way of illustration, the Government indicates that, in the context of the development of the Spanish Strategy of Active Employment Support 2021–24, working groups were established with the participation of representatives of the unions and the Autonomous Communities. The Government indicates that social dialogue has also been important in specific initiatives for youth and the long-term unemployed, the modernization of public employment services, the reform of vocational training for employment and the reform of the pension system to ensure its sustainability. The CCOO indicates that, although improvements have been made in the transparency of the policies and programmes implemented, measures still need to be adopted to improve the participation of the social partners in their design and follow up. In particular, the CCOO considers that for the effective participation of the social partners, it is necessary for information to be shared sufficiently in advance to allow it to be discussed, analysed and decisions taken, and for the scheduling of the meetings of the various bodies in which they participate to be adapted to allow discussions of the required depth. In this regard, the Government indicates that it agrees with these proposals to continue reinforcing social dialogue and the institutional participation of the social partners in relation to employment policy. In this context, the Committee recalls that Article 3 of the Convention calls for the measures and programmes related to the national employment policy to be adopted and implemented through an inclusive process of consultations with the social partners and representatives of the persons affected. In accordance with the spirit of the Convention, national employment policies should be designed and implemented in consultation and cooperation with specific groups, such as women, older workers and young persons, those in the informal economy, persons with disabilities and other persons affected. The active participation of the concerned groups will in turn foster ownership and cooperation in the policy and the measures taken for its implementation (2020 General Survey, Promoting employment and decent work in a changing landscape, paragraph 94). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures adopted with a view to ensuring that the social partners and the representatives of the persons affected by the measures that are implemented are able to participate actively in the design, implementation and evaluation of employment policies.