The defeat suffered at the hands of Podemos has forced the Vice-President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, to improvise to rescue the unemployment benefit reform, after Congress overturned the decree-law that put it in motion. In this way, he will immediately summon the social agents “to work in time on a reform that is very positive for the country”, as Díaz said yesterday.
The vice president took the opportunity to accuse Podemos, together with the PP and Vox, of having “attacked” the workers, but, political insults aside, it is significant that this time the rule will be negotiated with the social agents, which did not happen with the decree law that was taken to Congress for validation. The reason that was alleged was the urgency to approve it because it is part of the elements that will be judged to grant the new payment of 10,000 million of the Recovery Plan.
These rushes, however, have become a regular element that has caused the discomfort of unions and employers, who repeatedly complain that the central government has devalued social dialogue. For this reason, this call is well received.
“Let’s go back to the starting point and I think it’s more important to see what the central government will bring to the table. There was a pediment when we negotiated throughout the reform and I would like to see what the new elements are, if they are just touch-ups or if they are fundamental”, stated the general secretary of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez. For its part, CC.OO. considers that although the rejection of the reform is bad news, at the same time it now opens up the possibility of approaching it from the perspective of social dialogue and avoiding its negative elements. From the employer’s side they were more synthetic: “You are welcome”, said the vice president of the CEOE, Lorenzo Amor.
To overturn the decree law, Podemos focused exclusively on a precise point. The point is that, with the current legislation, an unemployment benefit recipient contributes to retirement at 125% of the minimum base, and with the reform, this contribution was gradually reduced to 105%. For Podemos it is a cut; by the Ministry of Labour, no, because with the increase in the amount of the subsidy that the reform implies, it is compensated.
In any case, it is the element that Podemos argued for overturning the reform and one of those that the unions are also asking to be corrected. Pepe Álvarez proposes to maintain the over-contribution at 125% for recipients over 52 years of age, so that working does not represent a cost for their pension rights. I CC.OO. also claims to solve this point and avoid harming the beneficiaries.
The rejection of the reform means freezing the increase in the amount of the subsidy, which increased in the first six months to 570 euros, in the following semester it was 540, and the following year, in the current 480 euros. If even with an approval on Wednesday the reform would only have been applied from June, so that there was time to apply the changes it entails, now the delay will be even greater.
