Labor reform talks in Spain appear at a stalemate
June 9, 2010 The talks, which have been going on for months, aim to encourage
hiring, resurrect a moribund economy and reassure jittery markets
that Spain can trim its deficit and debt loads.
But Labor Minister Celestino Corbacho said it will be difficult
for the two sides to reach a consensus in the last round of talks
Wednesday.
Unions have threatened a general strike if they feel those
changes harm workers, but a strike Tuesday by civil servants
protesting wage cuts drew a weak response. That raised questions
whether the unions had enough support to pull off a nationwide
walkout.
Corbacho said the government was ready to explain its reform
proposals to opposition parties.
"It is clear that, starting tomorrow, we have to begin talking
to the parties in Parliament," he told reporters at Parliament.
Barring an agreement between labor and management, the
government says it will approve reforms by decree on June 16, one
day before a EU summit in Brussels. These reforms would then have
to be ratified by Spain's Parliament.
Spain's labor laws have been widely criticized as rigid and
discouraging companies from hiring. Spanish workers who are laid
off get severance pay of as much 45 days per year worked, among the
highest levels in Europe. The government is expected to try to
lower that number to 33 days.
Spanish media report the government is also considering making
it easier for companies to argue economic distress as grounds to
lay off workers with just a 20-day per year severance package.
