Waste, Health, Spain

(August 2016) The public sector federations of the CCOO and UGT confederations have set out some key collective bargaining demands. The CCOO federations put their proposals to the Ministry of Finance and Public Administration at the end of July calling for a re-establishment of collective bargaining, creation of 356000 jobs and an end to restrictions on recruitment. They also want to see a recovery of purchasing power for public sector workers, a return to the 35-hour week and recuperation of other cuts to pay and conditions made since 2010. The FeSP-UGT federation demands include a 3% pay

The FeSP-UGT and CCOO federations in the public sector have come together to launch a campaign to get the government to negotiate over employment in the public sector and to adjust the budget for 2018 to begin to tackle the staffing crisis. The unions point out that not only have 350000 public sector jobs been cut since 2010 but the problem is being compounded by an ageing workforce. In social security, for example, around 48% of staff are set to retire over the next 10 years. The unions also want to ensure implementation of the agreement signed earlier this year to reduce the number of

The public service federations of the CCOO and UGT confederations organised a joint mobilisation of public administration workers on 29 November as part of their campaign for increased pay, more jobs and a return of rights lost during austerity. This followed a public-sector wide demonstration on 24 November with plans for further action on 14 December. The unions argue that services are under threat as 14% of jobs have been cut and reduced recruitment has created an ageing workforce where half are over 50. Since the 5% pay cut in 2010 there has been only a single pay increase of 1% while

A new report from the health federation of the CCOO confederation covering the period 2012-2016 confirms the union's concerns over a widening gender pay and employment gap in the health sector. The report finds that women tend to have more precarious contracts with many on temporary contracts while they make up the vast majority of part-time workers and both of these contribute to the persistent gender pay gap. The union wants to see equality plans produced in any health institutions that don't yet have them and existing plans updated. Along with the CCOO, the UGT trade union has called on the

(April 2017) Public sector trade union federations have signed an historic agreement with the government that will see a massive reduction in precarious employment across the public sector. The deal means that over 300000 workers currently on some form of fixed-term employment will have the chance to move onto a permanent contract over the next three years. This is the result of the first major negotiations with the government since 2010. The unions underlined that they are still looking for an agreement on pay increases over the coming years that will compensate for the 15% loss of purchasing

Around 10000 workers joined a demonstration in Madrid on 14 December called by the CCOO and UGT trade unions as part of their campaign to win back rights for the three million public sector workers who have been hit by austerity measures. Public services have been hit by job cuts while workers have seen their hours increased and pay fall by 13% in real terms since 2010. EPSU president Isolde Kunkel-Weber joined the march and expressed solidarity on behalf of EPSU.

The FSC-CCOO public service federation exposed social security fraud at the ambulance company, Ambulancia Tenorio, and this has now been officially confirmed following an investigation by the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate of Badajoz. Tenorio employs over 1000 workers and provides services mainly in the Extremadura region. The company has been found guilty of underpaying salaries, social security contributions and overtime. The company has to pay 505 workers EUR 1.4m and must pay back EUR 400000 to the social security system. This comes shortly after Tenorio was found to have

The CCOO-Sanidad health federation organised a national mobilisation on 6 November to put pressure on the national health service to deliver on reforming the pay system that covers around 500,000 workers. The union wants to see major changes in the pay structure on the basis of a professional qualification framework that recognises the skills and competences of a wide range of occupations. It argues that this is necessary to establish appropriate salary levels that should provide higher pay for many health workers.

The public service federations of the CCOO confederation have called on the acting government to guarantee that the 2% pay increase, agreed as part of a three-year pay deal, will be paid on 1 January 2020 to all three million public sector workers. Formally a new government has yet to be confirmed and the acting public service minister is claiming that the increase cannot be confirmed but that it could be paid and backdated later in 2020. The union argues that the increase can be paid on the basis of a royal decree and say this needs to be done urgently as part of the union demands to win back

The health section of the CCOO confederation has made a major breakthrough by negotiating the first collective agreement covering researchers working for the biomedical research foundations of the Madrid health service. Around 1200 researchers will be covered by the agreement which will link their salaries to the pay structure of the Madrid health service. An important element of the agreement will be tackling the excessive use of temporary contracts. Up to 90% of the researchers are on temporary contracts and around a third of contracts are thought by the union to be illegal.

Health and social care trade unions are campaigning for better pay and conditions for hundreds of thousands of works in the dependent care sector and national health service. Around 3000 trade unionists protested outside the Ministry of Health on 30 November as part of the campaign by the CCOO-Sanidad union to secure major changes to the health service pay system. On 2 December the FeSP-UGT federation sent key demands to all the autonomous regions calling on them to intervene with the companies that are blocking measures to improve pay, reduce precarious work and tackle excessive workloads in

(September 2016) The FeSP-UGT public services federation has called on the interim government to open negotiations with trade unions to ensure that the law setting out the budget for 2017 includes provisions for increased employment and a pay rise for public sector workers. The federation says that urgent action is needed to fill vacancies, take on temporary staff on permament contracts and reinstate the 170000 jobs cut since 2011. It is also arguing for a 3% pay increase in line with overall economic growth. Read more at FeSP-UGT (ES).