Unions present their key demands to the government

(February 2017) The main public sector federations of CCOO and UGT, along with the CSIF federation, met with the ministers of finance and public administration on 14 February with the government indicating its willingness to negotiate. The unions listed their priorities for the coming negotations underling the need to clearly re-establish the right to collective bargaining, to gradually recoup the purchasing power of workers lost over the years since the crisis and to boost public employment by filling the 365000 vacancies that are part of the budgeted establishment.

(November 2016) Public sector unions in the CCOO and UGT confederations have been meeting with parties across the political spectrum to highlight their key demands for new statutes covering all public sector workers.They are calling for a pay increase for all workers in 2017 and reinstatement of cuts to pay and conditions imposed since the crisis. They also want to see steps taken to reduce precarious employment and specifically measures in line with the recent European Court of Justice ruling to address the abuse of temporary contracts.

The CCOO and UGT unions in the public sector met with the finance ministry on 19 February to underline their demands for a new agreement on public employment that would include a target of reducing temporary employment to 8% of total employment over the next three years and to end the restriction on replacing employees who leave which has had major implications not just for workers but also the quality of services. The unions are also looking for an above-inflation pay rise and a restoration of the 5% salary cut from 2010. They also want to see a return to the 35-hour week across the public