Spain: labour market reform adopted by parliament

Spanish members of parliament voted on 3 February to approve the labour market reform presented by the government. The bill passed in highly controversial circumstances, ranging from last-minute switching of sides to a vote cast in error by an opposition MP. In the end, the bill squeezed through parliament after 175 votes in favour and 174 against. This vote confirmed the text that had already been adopted by decree in the Council of Ministers, the decision-making body of the Spanish government, on 28 December and which came into force on 1 January 2022 (see article n°12840). The controversies surrounding the bill’s passing in parliament are all the more surprising given that the text is the result of a long-standing agreement negotiated in advance with the social partners. The reform was also one of the conditions imposed on Madrid by the European Commission, for European recovery fund grants to be released. Its main features include the introduction of measures to combat the abuse of temporary contracts and excessive employee turnover, with better supervision of subcontracting. The text also strengthens collective bargaining while facilitating new internal flexibility tools for companies, to help them adapt while also avoiding redundancies. “It is a question of putting an end to the culture of precariousness,” said Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s minister of labour, during the parliamentary debate. She highlighted that Spain is the country in Europe with the highest number of short-term contracts, with more than 25% of employees having fixed-term arrangements.