Labor also proposes subsidizing the conversion of part-time employment to full-time employment due to the reduction in working hours

Create a group of experts for the regulatory development of the new time registration

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The Ministry of Labor and Social Economy has proposed this Friday to social agents to subsidize the conversion of part-time contracts into full-time jobs within the process of supporting small and medium-sized companies with less than 10 workers for the reduction of working hours. work until 37.5 hours.

After a new meeting of the social dialogue table for the reduction of working hours, the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, explained that this measure is one of the “three capital elements” that make up the so-called ‘Plan SME 375’ .

The other two elements, already advanced in the previous meeting of the board, are those of subsidizing permanent contracts carried out by SMEs with less than 10 workers as a result of the application of the reduction in working hours; and the implementation of advisory plans and sector guides that take into account the characteristics of each sector, in principle in conjunction with public employment services.

In this sense, he pointed out that Labor has deployed a series of guidance and entrepreneurship centers thanks to European funds, which are what the Ministry wants to accompany small business owners in reducing working hours to 37.5 hours per week.

Pérez Rey has indicated that there are many SMEs in the commerce and hospitality industry where part-time contracts abound, so Labor proposes subsidizing increases in working hours to help companies with less than 10 workers to apply the reduction to 37.5 hours per week.

“We are going to promote quality employment and we are going to promote the reduction of working hours as a stimulus for job creation. But we not only want to encourage the creation of new indefinite jobs derived from the reduction of working hours, but what we want to do It is also to encourage part-time contracts to be transformed into full-time contracts as a result of the reduction in working hours,” Pérez Rey stressed.

The Secretary of State for Labor has stated that a good part of small companies, especially in the commerce or hospitality sector, have a lot of part-time hiring. “Therefore, they have a more than important margin to increase the working day as a result of the reduction in working hours. This means that the reduction in working hours can not only be an opportunity to create more employment, but it is also a good opportunity to leave behind short-term part-time jobs,” he explained.

Pérez Rey has indicated that the bonuses for the creation of permanent jobs will not be the same as those that will be given for the increase in working hours, but he has not given figures. “We also ask the employers’ and union organizations to make some considerations about what the amount should be to prevent the bonuses from becoming a dead weight,” said the Secretary of State, who has shown his willingness to jointly design these bonuses. .

SCHEDULE RECORD: GROUP OF EXPERTS FOR REGULATORY DEVELOPMENT

Pérez Rey has indicated that at today’s table special attention has been given to time registration so that legislation regarding working time is complied with. This registry, together with the reduction in working hours, the ‘SME 375 Plan’ and the right to digital disconnection, constitute the perimeter of the negotiation, which has now been “sealed” and about which Labor has conveyed to the social agents a written document.

The Government has insisted on the need for this time record to be electronic, not to be easily manipulated, and to be “interoperable” by the Labor Inspection to be able to verify whether or not the regulations regarding working time are complied with. job.

“It is evident that an obligation such as time registration requires a much more extensive regulatory development, which takes into account the sectoral singularities, the particularities of each of the workers or, in some way, takes into account that there may even be some categories where the registry has to function in a diverse way”, pointed out Pérez Rey, who has advanced that a few weeks ago a group of experts was established to help in this regulatory development and thus be able to combine the reduction of working hours “with its full effectiveness”.

Asked when the new registry will come into force, Pérez Rey stated that, for reasons of timing, it will do so when the reduction of working hours to 37.5 hours per week is also in force. “But nothing prevents us from starting to work now to guarantee adequate regulatory development,” he added.

Likewise, he has made it clear that Labor does not consider time registration as an alternative measure to reducing working hours, since it does not contemplate that the 37.5 hours will not be approved by Parliament.

With today’s written proposal, Labor understands that the Government has already deployed all the measures on this table. “They are all black on white, we negotiate with papers on the table and we wait for the organizations’ response,” said Pérez Rey, who added that he is “especially interested” in CEOE “studying carefully” the ‘Plan. SME 375’ and say if any additional support or stimulus measures for small businesses are needed.

Pérez Rey has assured that Labor will explore all possibilities to reach an agreement, making it clear that the commitment to reduce the working day to 37.5 hours per week in 2025 is “inalienable.”

UNIONS WILL END THE NEGOTIATION IF CEOE CONTINUES BLOCKING THE TABLE

For their part, CCOO and UGT have regretted that the social dialogue table has been meeting for more than nine months and the CEOE’s position remains the same: denying the reduction of working hours by law and wanting to continue negotiating through a collective agreement. .

For this reason, the confederal secretary of CCOO Union Action, Mari Cruz Vicente, has warned that if CEOE does not take a position following the document delivered by the Ministry of Labor this Friday, they will end the negotiation process. “The Government has to act so that this measure is really carried out,” he insisted, while threatening more mobilizations.

Regarding the ‘Plan SME 375’ document, the unions did not want to make observations because the Government’s proposal was not explained during the meeting and was delivered at the end of it, as they have criticized.

However, they have insisted that the entry into force of the reduction in working hours “cannot be repeatedly delayed” and have urged the Government to act and take “effective measures.”

In relation to time registration, the deputy general secretary of Union Policy of UGT, Fernando Luján, has insisted that the measure cannot be postponed, since each week there are six million overtime hours that have not been quoted, which represents an impact of more than 3,250 million euros.

“This situation cannot be tolerated. A registry must be implemented that does not generate this abuse,” Luján claimed, while also calling for “strong” sanctions for companies that fail to comply with the working hours.

CEOE MAINTAINS ITS ‘NO’

For their part, CEOE sources have assured Europa Press that the meeting has taken place “without any news” and the employers’ association remains against the reduction of the working day, as it is a matter that they believe should be addressed in collective bargaining. , although they will continue to be present at the negotiation table to reduce the working day.