Spain
(January 2017) The health federations of the CCOO and UGT unions are calling on the government to provide permanent contracts to thousands of temporary workers and fill vacant posts across the health service. These are among several demands that the unions want to negotiate with the health minister over the coming year along with ending the replacement rate that prevents all vacancies being filled and returning to the 35-hour week.
In the run-up to negotiating a new collective agreement covering 80000 workers in the childcare sector, the FNV trade union has published the results of a survey that reveal excessive flexibility in working hours and too many fixed-term contracts as major issues for childcare workers. The union argues that many workers have so few set hours that they can be called on at short notice to work additional hours, creating uncertainty and stress. With the increasing demand for workers in the sector the FNV argues that these issues need to be addressed if more qualified workers are to be recruited.
The Labour Court has ruled that the Health Service Executive West has to give 90 long-term temporary workers permanent contracts. Management should have give them permanent contracts with the Fixed-term worker regulations were implemented in 2003 but the workers were only offered permanent contracts to work whenever work was available. The Court ruling now means the workers can get full-time, permanent contracts and it is likely to have implications for the rest of the health service. Read more at > SIPTU (EN)
The Sanitas health union is calling on the government to offer permanent employment to the many medical and auxiliary workers who were taken on to help cope with the pandemic. These workers will see their contracts terminated once the end of the emergency is declared. The union argues that these workers have clearly demonstrated their skills and competences in helping to deal with the crisis with many facing high risks of infection and some even losing their lives to COVID. Sanitas also sees continuing staff shortages as another argument for offering these workers permanent employment.
