Brussels transfers its “congratulations” to Yolanda Díaz for the labor reform

“He has shown his satisfaction,” said Díaz, “and has conveyed his congratulations to us for the role played with the first reform that is agreed upon, also within the European Union.” The second vice president herself tweeted: “[El comisario] Nicolas Schmit has congratulated our country for a labor reform that brings us closer to the best of Europe and that makes Social Dialogue its flag”.

Sources familiar with the meeting explained to elDiario.es that the commissioner was happy with the labor reform agreement, which he described as historic for having come through a social agreement, something that had not happened before.

The vice president explained that, in the conversation with the European Commissioner for Employment, the Community Executive recognized “the positive impact that the recently approved reform is already having on the labor market in Spain”: “They have shown enormous dissatisfaction. Spain does not not only going to the forefront, but guaranteeing central social policies and, above all, with decent work at the center”.

Díaz also explained that the Commission has congratulated Spain, likewise for the social dialogue, through which more than a dozen agreements have been reached between Labour, unions and employers in Spain: “We are an exemplary country in the deployment of social dialogue”.

The recognition of the European Commission at the meeting, according to the sources, also came because Spain was one of the first countries to present the government plan for 2030 related to the European social pillar with criteria, and it has done so with “criteria very ambitious”, something that has been recognized by the European commissioner.

In the meeting with the Employment Commissioner, Díaz also announced that Spain was going to deposit the ILO Convention 190 in Geneva. Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz announced just before the pandemic broke out her willingness to ratify Convention 190, against violence and harassment at work. The step had a special relevance because it was going to mean the entry into force of the international treaty, which needs the ratification of at least two countries and at that time only Uruguay had started the process.

But the pandemic arrived and the process prior to ratification was lengthened in the face of other emergencies resulting from the coronavirus crisis. The second State to finally ratify it was Fiji and Argentina, Ecuador, Mauritius, Namibia and Somalia have since joined. Now, the Executive has completed the “previous rulings and mandatory procedures” and takes the first step so that Spain joins the ratification of the agreement.

The vice president has highlighted since she came to the Government the importance of agreement 190 against violence and harassment for several novelties in its protective perspective. On the one hand, it includes within harassment not only that which is exercised vertically (from a superior to a subordinate person) but also that which occurs between equals (one co-worker to another).

In addition, the Minister of Labor has underlined its scope for interns, even if they are not salaried, as well as in those spaces that are outside the workplace, such as meetings outside the office, work trips and training courses. job training, in which you must also protect against workplace harassment.

In the meeting with Schmit, Díaz also spoke about the issues that the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy and the Second Vice Presidency are preparing as a country for the rotating Spanish presidency of the EU in the second half of 2023; issues related to social dialogue, disconnection, care, algorithms, and riders, among others.

PP campaign without response

This new boost from Brussels for the Government’s economic policies comes after the campaign of Pablo Casado’s PP in Brussels against the management of European funds, which are linked to investments and reforms such as the labor market.

The campaign of attacks by Pablo Casado’s PP for the management of European funds is not only an offensive against the Government of Spain. He also questions the work of supervision, evaluation and negotiation of the European Commission, which is the one that delivers the money. And the one that, for the moment, has given Spain more than anyone else –19,000 million euros– and without questioning the distribution method approved by the coalition Executive.

In a period of 15 days, the president of the PP has passed through Brussels -last Monday-; the Andalusian president, Juan Manuel Moreno, –on January 26–; and a delegation of municipal and regional officials, headed by the mayor of Madrid and state spokesman, José Luis Martínez-Almeida –last Wednesday–. In all three cases, the message from the PP leaders is the same: sow doubts about the management that is being done in Spain, with accusations of favoritism towards the communities and municipalities governed by the PSOE or “the nationalists”, as Casado said. Last monday.

In all three cases, the same response from the European institutions: Brussels is limited to taking note. And, in all three cases, the same recognition of the PP representatives that their complaints have little travel in the Community Executive.

A European Commission, moreover, that week after week, through the mouth of the economic vice-president, Valdis Dombrovskis – a Latvian from the popular European family – and the Finance commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni – an Italian socialist –, amends the representatives of the PP in the European Parliament when they question fund management in Spain. The last time, it happened last Monday while Pablo Casado was meeting with representatives of the European PP in Brussels.

Indeed, Casado met in Brussels on Monday with the president of the European Parliament, the Maltese Roberta Metsola -of the European PP-, Manfred Weber -head of the bench of the popular Europeans in the European Parliament–; with Sigfried Muresan, Vice President of the EPP and rapporteur for the regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), and Markus Ferber, spokesman for the popular Europeans in the Economic Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.

That is to say, the president of the PP only met with representatives of his political family in Brussels. And not even with any representative of the European Commission. The European PP held a meeting in which the issue of funds was not addressed, according to the press release published by the party itself.

Those who have met with representatives of the European Commission have been both the Andalusian president, Juan Manuel Moreno, and the delegation of mayors. But in no case with commissioners directly responsible for the management of the funds.