Pensions/retirement, Digitalisation, Spain

After lengthy strike action by Ministry of Justice staff through 2023, trade unions, including the FSC-CCOO and UGT-SP, are now sitting down with ministry officials to try to resolve some of the main areas of dispute. The FSC-CCOO was disappointed at an early stage when its proposals for the remit of two working groups were rejected. The federation wanted one to discuss a general pay increase and other issues and the working group on the efficiency law to discuss working conditions and not just job functions. The FSC-CCOO also raised a number of other issues it wants to see on the negotiating

The CCOO trade union has expressed its concern and disappointment that the agreement on telework that was negotiated last April may not take full effect until October rather than January as claimed by the public services minister. The union says that the Draft Royal Decree will require about two months for processing and publication and then three months for the administration to determine the criteria for the jobs that can be provided by telework. It estimates a further four more months for implementation in each department. The CCOO raises concerns about the implications for gender equality

The FeSP-UGT public services federation has signed an agreement with the Fresenius Medical Care company setting out a digital disconnection procedure, which will be applied to all workers in all Fresenius’s centres and clinics in Spain. It recognises the company's commitment to guarantee this right during holidays other days off and daily and weekly rest periods, based on the digital rights legislation of 2018. The union wanted to make sure there was a proper procedure for monitoring application of the agreement and dealing with issues such as emergency situations arising from staff shortages

After the surge in remote working as a result of the pandemic, trade unions in Ireland, Russia and Spain have welcomed new initiatives, including legislation and collective agreements, that regulate telework. Research by the Eurofound research agency also looks into the negative and positive implications of telework for workers’ autonomy and work-life balance raising again the challenges to ensure that workers have control over their working time and underlining the importance of current discussions at European level on the right to disconnect.

The FSC-CCOO and FeSP-UGT public service federations have signed a new agreement on telework covering 2.5 million public sector employees. The agreement includes basic principles that telework arrangements should be voluntary and reversible and subject to key provisions relating to health and safety, equality, transparency and objectivity. The agreement protects employee rights as well as guaranteeing services for citizens. Other important elements include a right to disconnect, data protection and the right to privacy. The unions have called for negotiations at various levels of government to

Unions organising in state administration in both Spain and Portugal have raised serious concerns about the approach to telework and particularly governments taking the opportunity to regularise arrangements that were only adopted on an emergency basis. While there is recognition of the potential benefits to work-life balance, unions argue that fundamental issues need to be addressed through collective bargaining in relation to working time, the right to disconnect, provision of equipment, health and safety, training, contact with the workplace and the voluntary nature of the decision to

The FSC-CCOO and FeSP-UGT public service federations have finally negotiated a new agreement covering 40000 workers in the central state administration. This comes three years after the last agreement and failure of the previous government to negotiate a deal. The new agreement will mean an overall increase of 14% for the lowest paid covering the three years 2018-2020. There are also measures to clarify job classifications and relate them more closely to educational qualifications. The unions are also pleased to include for the first time provisions to allow workers aged 55 and over to opt for

A statute published last month confirms the pay increases that will be implemented this year for all public sector workers as part of a three-year package that was negotiated with unions last year. Along with a basic increase of 2.25% this January, there will be an additional 0.25% (0.3% if there is a budget surplus in 2018) and a further 0.25% in July if economic growth is 2.5% or more. Unions will be looking for progress on other key demands when they meet the government later this month. In particular, they want to see an increase in public sector employment and an end to restrictions on