Renfe will repeat the verbal or reading comprehension psychometric test for the oppositions called to fill 600 commercial operator positions, after several applicants reported possible irregularities in the exam held on June 6.
The public company has decided to re-call this exercise on July 25 for 2,213 applicants, a measure adopted after accepting the recommendation issued by the State Attorney's Office, which considers this solution to be the one that best guarantees the principles of equality, merit, and ability that should govern access to public employment.
The decision comes after the claims made by several applicants, who warned of the possible coincidence between part of the exam content and external materials that had been previously disseminated. In response to these complaints, Renfe opened an internal investigation and requested reports from both People Experts, the contracting company responsible for the supply, administration, and correction of the test, and its legal-labor services, before submitting the file to the State Attorney's Office.
The legal report, received on July 7, concludes that repeating only the affected test is the most appropriate response to preserve the principles of equality, merit, and ability. The new exam will be held in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, and León and will be attended by the 2,213 applicants who passed both the knowledge test and the numerical psychometric test.
After learning of this ruling, the examination board met again this Friday and agreed to repeat the verbal or reading comprehension test. The decision was supported by the representatives of Renfe and the SEMAF union, while CCOO and UGT expressed their disagreement with the measure.
Complaints about the exam content
The controversy arose after several applicants complained that 35 out of 36 questions on the verbal aptitude test coincided with preparation material previously distributed by the academy ETICOP among its students. These questions were part of the psychometric test developed by People Experts.
According to the information gathered by Renfe during the investigation, the company responsible for designing the exam had not authorized the use of this material by the academy, although it was subsequently disseminated online. The complaining applicants maintain that this circumstance could have benefited those who had prior access to these documents.
The claims also questioned the absence of publication of the correction criteria and the official answer templates, in addition to raising doubts about the traceability of the question bank used during the selection process.
Renfe defends the guarantees of the process
Renfe maintains that the detected incident originated from circumstances unrelated to the organization of the selection process. Nevertheless, as the convening entity and ultimately responsible for the employment offer, it has opted to apply the solution proposed by the State Attorney's Office, considering that it offers the greatest legal and equity guarantees for all applicants.
The company emphasizes that its selection processes are governed by the constitutional principles of merit, capacity, and equality and assures that it will continue to adopt the necessary measures to preserve the integrity of the calls and guarantee equal opportunities.
During the processing of the file, CCOO initially supported the decision to request the State Attorney's Office's opinion and called for a review of Renfe's selection model, as well as greater control over the preparation and custody of exams and the clarification of possible responsibilities. For its part, UGT advocated for an external and independent investigation to clarify the facts and protect the rights of applicants who participated in good faith in the call. Both unions, however, ultimately voted against the partial repetition agreed upon by the court.