The ministries of Social Rights and Labor, of Sumar, accuse the socialist part of the Government, which they ask to pay immediately
BRUSSELS, 26 ()
The European Commission reported this Thursday that it has initiated an infringement procedure against Spain for failing to comply with the community directive that requires the payment of the allowance for the last two weeks of parental leave, a condition that the member states had to transpose into their national legislation. no later than last August.
The conciliation directive establishes minimum requirements aimed at achieving equality between men and women with regard to opportunities in the labor market and treatment at work, facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life for workers who are parents or caregivers.
The community standard came into force in July 2019 but gave governments more time to apply it, so the deadline to transpose most of the provisions – which guarantee non-transferable and paid parental leave of appropriately– and left for August 2024 the one that refers to the payment of the last two weeks.
According to the Community Executive, Spain has missed the deadline to communicate to its services the complete transposition of that last element and therefore Brussels takes the step of starting the file.
Sending a letter of summons is the first formal step in a sanctioning file and gives the Government a period of two months to take the necessary measures to correct the irregularity.
If the situation is not remedied within this period, the European Commission may send a reasoned opinion, the second phase of the procedure, which gives a little more time for dialogue before deciding whether to reach the third and final phase, which involves denouncing Spain before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Last August, when the deadline to comply with the transposition of the obligation to pay the last two weeks of the permit expired, the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy stated that Brussels would fine Spain with at least 7 million euros for failing to comply with this provision and that the figure would increase if non-compliance persisted.
However, the announcement by the Community Executive this Thursday is only the first step in the process so it remains to be seen if the matter reaches the European Court, which is competent to dictate sanctions in case of non-compliance.
MEMBERS OF SUMAR’S GOVERNMENT ACCUSE THE PSOE OF DELAY
For their part, sources from the Ministry of Social Rights and Labor have assured Europa Press that they have insisted to their government partner, “through all channels, formal and informal”, that the situation “is not acceptable” and that “severely penalizes” families in Spain. “It is unacceptable that families in our country do not have the minimum conciliation rights that Europe demands,” they lamented.
In this sense, both ministries have recalled that it is an issue that is in the Government agreement and that they must carry it out “immediately”, without waiting for the PGE (General State Budgets): “we must guarantee the expansion of the paid leave and birth leave to comply once and for all with the directive”.
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