Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140) - Spain (Ratification: 1978)

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), received on 2 August 2018, as well as the observations of the General Union of Workers (UGT), received on 7 August 2018. The Committee also notes the observations of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE), included in the Government’s report. The Committee further notes the Government’s responses to the observations of the social partners.

Articles 2–6 of the Convention. Formulation and application of a policy to promote the granting of paid educational leave. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the new legislative provisions adopted between June 2013 and June 2018 in relation to vocational training, and particularly paid educational leave. The Government refers, among other provisions, to section 23(c) of the amended text of the Workers’ Charter, approved by Royal Legislative Decree No. 2/2015, of 23 October, which provides that workers shall be entitled to “the granting of appropriate training or further training leave with their jobs guaranteed”. Moreover, section 23(3), in its amended version, sets out the right of workers with a least one year of seniority in the enterprise “to paid leave of 20 hours a year for vocational training for employment related to the activity of the enterprise, which may be accumulated over a period of up to five years”. Section 23 further provides that this entitlement “shall be considered to have been granted in every case in which the worker is able to take the necessary action to obtain vocational training for employment within the framework of a training plan developed at the initiative of the enterprise or agreed to in collective bargaining”. Similarly, section 9(6) of Act No. 30/2015, of 9 September, regulating the system of in-work vocational training for employment, provides that when the worker is able to take the necessary action to obtain vocational training for employment within the framework of a training plan developed at the initiative of the enterprise or agreed to in collective bargaining, the entitlement of the worker to paid leave of 20 hours a year for vocational training for employment, as set out in section 23(3) of the Workers’ Charter, shall be considered to have been granted. The Committee also notes the reference by the Government to the conclusion of the third single collective agreement for personnel of the general administration of the State, which covers various types of leave, including paid training leave. The Committee notes that the CCOO considers that, although there is no set policy promoting paid education leave for the various purposes set out in Article 2 of the Convention (vocational training, general, social and civic education, and trade union education), the training or vocational further training leave set out in section 23(1)(c) of the Workers’ Charter can be for any of those purposes. With regard to the paid leave of 20 hours a year for vocational training for employment indicated in section 23(3) of the Workers’ Charter, the CCOO expresses the view that its scope is limited by the high rate of fixed-term employment in the country and the dependence on enterprise initiatives to provide training. Finally, the Committee notes the emphasis placed by the UGT and the CCOO on the need to ensure greater participation by the social partners in the promotion of paid educational leave. In this regard, the CCOO considers that this participation could take place within the framework of the General Vocational Training Council, which is a consultative, advisory and institutional body for the public administration, and which already includes the social partners. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information of the formulation and application, in collaboration with the social partners, of policies and measures to encourage the granting of paid educational leave for the purpose of vocational training at any level, as well as for general, social and civic education and trade union education, and to provide copies of the respective texts.

Articles 4 and 6. Coordination of the policy to promote paid educational leave with general policies concerning employment. Association of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the indication by the CCOO that the coordination of the granting of paid educational leave with other public policies, such as employment policy, is practically non-existent. The CCOO adds that there are no frameworks for coordination and cooperation between the public authorities in the context of education and employment concerning paid educational leave. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures adopted for the coordination of the national policy on paid educational leave with general policies concerning employment, education and training. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the public authorities and institutions or bodies providing education and training are associated with the formulation and application of the policy for the promotion of paid educational leave.

Application of the Convention in practice. Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in 2016 and 2017 individual training leave was granted in 12,792 cases under the terms of section 9 of Act No. 30/2015. In this respect, the CCOO indicates that since 2015 there has been a progressive decline in the number of cases in which leave has been granted. The CCOO refers to the reduction of 11.4 per cent in participation in training in 2013 to 9.9 per cent in 2017, as an indicator of the fall in the granting of educational leave. It adds that, while access to leave is higher among men than women, the number of women who have been granted leave rose by 41.8 per cent in 2014 to 58 per cent in 2017. The CCOO further indicates that, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Labour, 26 per cent of men and women workers are entitled to paid educational leave under the terms of the enterprise and higher level agreements in force. The Committee also notes the statistical data provided by the Government on the action taken by the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate in relation to working time between 2013 and 2017. However, the Government indicates that it is not possible to obtain data on the time devoted to paid educational leave. In this respect, the CCOO emphasizes that there are no means of obtaining information on non-compliance related to the educational leave set out in the Workers’ Charter. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied including, for example, the results of inspections, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries, and statistics disaggregated by sex on the number of workers granted the various forms of paid educational leave (for the purpose of vocational training, general, social and civic education, and trade union education) during the period covered by the report.