Throughout the long negotiation process for the scholarship holder’s statute, more than a year of conversations between the Ministry of Labor and the social agents, from time to time a fourth actor appeared, the rectors of the universities, who carried out a loud protest . They were dissatisfied with the form, because they did not participate in the negotiation, and with the content, because they reject the regulation of these practices by students at the university. Now, once an agreement has been reached between Labor and the unions, the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), has once again rejected the scholarship project because they consider that it threatens the current internship system.
The CRUE, which brings together 76 Spanish universities (50 public and 26 private) affirms that university student internships are a “strictly academic matter and “we do not understand why unions and employers have to agree on their legal regime”. They add that regulating these practices corresponds to the Ministry of Universities and the universities.
One of the points that the rectors reject most radically is the establishment of compulsory compensation for the expenses that the student in practice may incur. They say that it represents an unprecedented forecast that will mean a dramatic decrease in the number of companies and public entities willing to welcome students in practice.
In addition, the rectors also protest the inclusion of students in practices in Social Security from October, a step that was already included in the second part of the pension reform. According to what they affirm, the universities will not have time to prepare for their application, which will mean damages for the students.
The protest of the rectors comes the same day that the vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda DÃaz, has ruled on the pact between her ministry and the unions, without the participation of the employer, for the statute of the scholarship holder. “Finally we have agreements with unions to no longer have false scholarship holders and to have the status that our country deserves,” DÃaz said after Sumar’s agreement with fifteen left-wing formations to go in coalition to the general elections of 23 of July.
The pact was reached this Friday, with a pre-agreement that will now have to go through the Council of Ministers and the permanent deputation of Congress, and which involves the regulation of internship students. It is the culmination of a long negotiation, from which the CEOE has dropped, both for substantive reasons and for considering that with the Parliament dissolved, it makes no sense to approve this statute. On the other hand, Labor and the unions have accelerated at the last minute to get this regulation approved in this legislature and that everything negotiated for a year does not decay.
It is a statute that sets limits on extracurricular practices, considering that they can be a source of fraud, and establishes fines for non-compliance with the regulations. The regulations establish how the tutoring of students should be carried out, their rights and also establish the obligation to compensate students for the expenses involved in carrying out their internships.
