The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has responded to the ultimatum launched by UGT after yesterday’s meeting to address the Temporary Disability (IT) reform at the social dialogue table and has assured that it is working to provide a solution to the retirement issues that have caused the negotiation on sick leave to be blocked.
The Secretary of State for Social Security and Pensions, Borja Suárez, has acknowledged after the press conference to present the unemployment and membership data for February that partial retirement in the Public Administration and the application of the transitional regime of voluntary early retirements “are two aspects that concern the unions and that we are working on them to resolve. This is a negotiation process. Like all negotiation processes, complex, where there are various levels and what we have to continue is working discreetly to resolve the problems and continue moving forward.”
The statements come a day after UGT announced that it will not negotiate again the improvement of medical leave “as long as” commitments that, according to the complaint, have been pending for nearly two years are not unblocked. These include the partial retirement of public administration staff, the coefficients that reduce the retirement age in arduous or dangerous activities and the coefficients applicable to maximum pensions in the case of ERE.
The pulse at the social dialogue table
The department headed by Elma Saiz has not detailed what specific formula is being studied to give rise to these demands, but the public recognition that they are being worked on seeks to keep the path of dialogue open. The negotiation on the IT, considered a priority by the Ministry and by the employers, has thus become conditional on progress in the retirement commitments.
In parallel, the CEOE insisted on the need to advance measures on medical leave that can be adopted through regulation, while deeper conversations continue. The employers’ association estimates the cost of absenteeism for companies and the Administration at 33,000 million euros annually.
The crossing of positions shows the fragility of the balance at the social dialogue table. Early and partial retirements have become the main obstacle in a negotiation that affects both the protection of workers and the financial sustainability of the system and business costs.