The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and current government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, has considered the words of the president of the People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, regarding sick leave to be "extremely serious," and maintains that they reveal that the PP's only plan for Spain "is austerity."
"Both in substance and in form, the statements made by Mr. Feijóo are extremely serious," Saiz indicated in an interview on RTVE's program 'Mañaneros 360,' as reported by Europa Press, after Feijóo stated that absenteeism is a "cancer we cannot afford" and questioned whether a worker on sick leave earns the same as when they are working.
The minister interprets that the PP is engaged in an internal competition to see who positions themselves as more "extreme," placing possible cuts to rights at the center of the debate. "A few days ago, women's rights, today workers' rights, when workers' health should be at the center," she reproached him.
Likewise, Saiz has lashed out against the "deregulation" that, in her opinion, the PP wants to carry out, which would mean ending collective bargaining and social dialogue "in a flash." "This is the truth of the People's Party, which has the same messages as Vox and in this absolutely misguided race, what it proposes for Spain is regression, austerity, and fundamentally harming the workers of this country," she lamented.
Regarding the estimates by the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF), which indicate an increase in spending on sick leave, Saiz has specified that the current situation is not comparable to that of a few years ago: then there were about 18 million employed people and now there are 22.4 million, with higher salaries. "The protection of temporary incapacity pivots precisely on the contribution base that comes from salaries," she stressed.
Finally, she recalled that the autonomous communities have the competence to strengthen public healthcare and reduce waiting lists, something that, as she argued, is key to containing the increase in spending associated with medical leave.