Spain: labour market reform on track

On 30 December 2021 the decree-law reforming Spain’s labour market rules was published in the Official State Bulletin (BOE). Parliament still has to approve the text before it can enter into force. The result of agreement between the Ministry of Labour, the employers' confederation (CEOE), and the two majority trade union centres (CCOO, UGT), this legislation provides for better supervision of short-term employment contracts, improves seasonal worker protection, and limits the use of subcontracting. It also strengthens collective bargaining and introduces more flexibility to facilitate companies’ adaptation processes and employee training.
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This text manifests one of the commitments made by Pedro Sánchez’s executive when the Socialist PM came to power in 2018 (c.f. article No. 10769). The aim was to reform the labour law, which had been previously amended in 2012 in a bid to streamline redundancy procedures as the country dealt with the peak of the recession during the financial crisis (c.f. article No. 120100). That text has also been eagerly awaited in Brussels as part of the major structural reforms promised to the EU (c.f. art

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