The companies that bet on stable employment will pay lower unemployment contributions, and those who receive public aid will be able to enter the labor market without losing it from the first day. These are two of the commitments that Alberto Núñez Feijóo has included in his labor proposal for the elections of November 29.
The PP president proposes creating a Renta de Activación that brings together the minimum vital income and the various subsidies, so that accepting a job always means an improvement in family income. The reform also includes training and job search obligations for beneficiaries, as well as progressive reductions of aid when suitable offers are repeatedly rejected without justification.
The proposals are part of the labor measures with which the PP is competing for the general elections of November 29. The document —which DEMÓCRATA has had access to—also includes plans to incorporate professionals into construction, promote employment for people with disabilities, strengthen the social economy, and generate job opportunities in depopulated areas. The defense industry also appears among the sectors that Feijóo wants to promote in order to create skilled jobs in Spain.
A new income that allows working without losing aid
The Renta de Activación aims to bring together the different benefits into a system that facilitates the transition from public aid to employment. Feijóo announced that its development would be done in collaboration with the autonomous communities and that beneficiaries could begin working without automatically losing economic protection.
The commitment is that accepting a job offer will always improve family income. "Working has to pay more than not doing it," the PP president said during his appearance.
The new model would also require active participation from those who receive the benefits. Each beneficiary would have to sign a training and job search agreement, subject to verifiable monitoring. Repeatedly rejecting suitable job offers, without a justified cause, would mean a gradual loss of the aid.
The measure was announced by Feijóo at the event on Tuesday, although it does not appear developed in the electoral document distributed that day. The amounts, the compatibility conditions with salaries, and the procedure to apply any possible reductions of benefits remain to be specified.
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Fewer social security contributions for companies that keep employment stable
The PP wants to introduce an economic incentive for companies that manage to keep their workforces more stable than the average for their sector. In those cases, companies would pay less unemployment contributions, a cut that the program directly links to the continuity of workers in their jobs.
The proposal establishes a comparison between companies in the same line of activity, although it does not specify the percentage reduction or how the stability of each workforce will be calculated.
At the same time, Feijóo commits to publishing every month, along with the figures for registered unemployment, how many workers fixed-term seasonal workers are not working. The PP’s stated goal is to provide more complete information about labor inactivity for this group.
Fixed-term seasonal workers maintain their contractual relationship during periods when they do not provide services, so not all of them appear as registered unemployed. The measure would make it possible to know their situation separately each month, without necessarily confusing that figure with unemployment as measured by official statistics.
Training to cover the jobs the construction sector needs
The lack of professionals in certain construction trades takes up another section of the program. The PP proposes a specific training and employment plan to bring workers into the sector and prevent the shortage of labor from delaying the construction of homes.
The initiative includes expanding training programs and facilitating the reskilling of people coming from other activities. Feijóo wants workers to be able to access the trades demanded by construction through training pathways tailored to their needs.
The program also opens the door so that the sector’s labor needs are taken into account when setting labor immigration quotas, with the aim of facilitating the hiring of professionals from abroad.
This is a proposal linked to the PP’s housing policy, which considers it necessary to have sufficient workers to carry out the new residential developments.
Making disability pensions compatible with work
People with disabilities have specific commitments to improve their access to the labor market. The PP proposes making disability pensions compatible with employment and expanding economic and technical support to adapt workplaces.
The training also proposes strengthening supported employment, a form that facilitates labor market entry through individualized assistance and accompaniment. To this it adds measures for universal accessibility, personal assistance, and housing with support to promote the autonomy of people with disabilities.
The program includes guaranteeing quality early care and maintaining the necessary supports throughout the different stages of life. It also proposes expanding access to early retirement for people with Down syndrome and strengthening specific care for people with autism and their families.
Cooperatives and insertion companies: more support for the social economy
The PP dedicates another one of its commitments to social economy entities, recognizing their role in job creation, wealth generation, and social cohesion.
The proposal, included in point 176 of the program, aims to promote the growth and competitiveness of cooperatives, labor societies, mutual societies, insertion companies, and special employment centers, among other organizations.
Feijóo commits to guaranteeing a stable regulatory framework, legal certainty, and respect for the particularities of each business model. The section does not detail tax incentives or new lines of financing, but sets as its objective improving the conditions so that these entities can carry out their activity and create jobs.
Incentives to open businesses and create jobs in the sparsely populated Spain
The areas affected by demographic decline are also among the program’s labor priorities. The PP proposes economic incentives to open businesses, facilitate the transfer of business ownership, and attract productive investments that generate stable employment in the municipalities that are losing population.
The planned aid would also extend to the purchase or rehabilitation of homes intended for habitual residence. The training links both issues: having labor opportunities and facilitating access to housing to encourage the permanence of the population in these territories.
The program includes the promotion of teleworking and the commitment to ensure quality connectivity. In collaboration with the autonomous communities, it proposes strengthening public services through mobile care, county centers, transport on demand, and neighborhood-based care.
These measures are directed especially at small and remote towns away from large cities. The document does not yet set the amounts of the incentives or the requirements to access them.
The defense industry as a source of skilled employment
Finally, the program incorporates a commitment to the Spanish defense industry to generate specialized employment, develop its own technology, and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.
The PP wants to direct investment in equipment and the modernization of the Armed Forces toward industrial activities developed in national territory. Among the priority areas it identifies are drones and anti-drone systems, air defense, ammunition manufacturing, cyber defense, communications, artificial intelligence, and naval capabilities.
Feijóo also proposes simplifying defense procurement procedures in order to speed up the acquisition and delivery of military equipment. The measure aims to strengthen Spanish productive capacity while also addressing the operational needs of the Armed Forces.
The document does not quantify the investment associated with this section nor does it offer forecasts about the jobs that could be created.
The Activation Income, the reduction of employers’ social security contributions, and sectoral employment plans thus constitute the main labor commitments examined from the PP program. Their implementation would depend on Feijóo’s arrival in Government and, in several cases, on subsequent regulatory developments, agreements with the autonomous communities, and budget allocations.