The Government has rejected this Friday the request of the Catalan employers' association Foment del Treball to allow dismissal for repeated or long-term sick leave again, understanding that such a figure violates "the most elementary constitutional principles and even ethical and moral ones."
"Precisely this Ministry began its journey almost seven years ago by repealing, through a royal decree law, the dismissal linked to absences due to illnesses or other justifying elements. Therefore, recovering that type of dismissal is something that can only be viewed very negatively," recalled the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, during the press conference in which the unemployment and affiliation data for the month of September were presented.
Labor bases its rejection of reintroducing this type of contract termination on two main reasons. On one hand, Pérez Rey emphasized that it is unacceptable to dismiss a person for being sick, because it goes against "the most elementary constitutional principles and even ethical and moral ones." On the other hand, he insisted that the problem of absenteeism in Spain will not be solved by targeting those who are on medical leave.
"It will be fought by eliminating the health problems, often mental, that a part of the workers have. And that is done with public and effective health services, that is done by shortening waiting lists," he defended, emphasizing the importance of strengthening public health to reduce sick leave.
In this line, the Secretary of State for Labor has urged the PP to focus on improving public health services in the communities where it governs, instead of advancing privatizations or in speeches that, in his opinion, criminalize the working class.
"The debate on absenteeism in Spain that is being sponsored by the right in our country is a debate that sometimes causes secondhand embarrassment. And I hope that one day they will make some reasonable proposal that does not involve cutting the rights of the weakest," Pérez Rey stated, criticizing the position of the conservative opposition.
In parallel, the Secretary of State for Social Security, Borja Suárez, has clarified that absenteeism refers to unjustified absence from the workplace. In this regard, he has admitted that there are indeed challenges linked to the evolution of temporary incapacity. "There are things that can be done, there are measures that can be taken, but with a perspective, in line with the extension of rights and never with a reduction of rights," he has defended, advocating for reforms that expand social protection.
Early retirements with 40 or more years of contributions and the Toledo Pact
Suárez has also responded about the support of the Plenary of Congress for the proposal of law from Podemos so that those who accumulate 40 or more years of contributions can access early retirement without reduction coefficients or penalties on the amount of their pension.
"This Government is very sensitive to the situation affecting workers who with long careers, with very long careers retire early especially in those cases where that exit from the labor market is involuntary," he has stated, showing the Executive's willingness to address this group.
In Suárez's opinion, before advancing in this proposal it is necessary to evaluate the pension reform approved in recent years and its impact. From there, he suggests that this initiative be discussed within the framework of the Toledo Pact and in the social dialogue table, with the aim that the measures adopted have stability and improve in a lasting way the situation of people with longer working careers, especially those who are in a more vulnerable position.
Reform of the self-employed regime: calendar and dialogue
Regarding the call for the dialogue table to address the reform affecting self-employed workers, the Secretary of State for Social Security has explained that, for now, the Government is focused on the preparation of the General Budgets.
"Everything will come. It is October 2, there is room to make that call and that work for next year," Borja Suárez has assured, emphasizing that "there is time" to resume these negotiations and advance in the pending changes in the contribution system for the self-employed.