Recent labor reform is proving to be a highly effective tool in business. fight against insecurity, to the point where about 60% of new contracts formalized in the state are already indefinite, previously only representing a reference percentage. Well, it is precisely this virtue that has become a serious problem for the Alicante shoe industry, that the Ministry of Labor does not take into account its impermanence and companies are forced to move around 15,000 employees to permanent positionsin a dynamic that could have serious consequences for its vitality. Companies warn that they will have to file an Employment Regulation File (ERE) each time business volumes decrease, so they demand regulations that take their specifics into account.
In the latest episode of the “Converses de futur” cycle, organized by INFORMATION and Iberian Press in conjunction with the Generalitat and the Elda City Council, the shoes raised the alarm in the presence of Concell president Ximo Puig. regarding the detrimental effects on the sector of labor reform promoted by the central government. Business representatives reminded that, Since 1961 the shoe industry has a certain ERTE. Considering that there are two production campaigns that are very different from each other in terms of time, autumn-winter and spring-summer, and there are periods in between, the throughput allowing the suspension of activity for a maximum of 60 days is markedly reduced. This mechanism was replaced in 1990 by a discontinuous fixed contract that gave companies flexibility in the same direction.
However, the problem has now erupted with reform, as companies received an instruction from the Ministry of Labor warning that non-permanent permanent workers should move to regular staff. Unemployed for less than 60 days or 20% of the annual working dayThis deprives the industry of a tool it deems necessary to circumvent the temporary situation. In fact, the impact would be more than significant as it is estimated that 70% of workers in the industry are permanently discontinuous and should now become permanent.
Marián Cano, president of the Valencian Footwear Entrepreneurs Association (Avecal), assures: discontinuous fixed contract “is an important figure for usbecause although its temporary nature is not as pronounced as it was years ago, the campaigns continue and there are times when the activities of the companies drop very significantly”. The industry representative also draws attention to the complex current situation. , in the sense that there are issues such as disruption of supply chains or displacement as a result of transportation costs and lack of raw materials, making organizing things in companies more complex than ever, with uncertainty regarding workforce needs. In fact, Cano adds that the nature of this agreement is one of the issues planned to be addressed in the collective agreement of the sector, whose bargaining was blocked due to salary differences.
With all this and taking the glove that Ximo Puig launched in his “Converses de futur” series, shoe employers want to trust Generalitat “To send the characteristics of our industry to the ministry so that they are taken into account by the Labor Inspectorate when implementing reform,” explains the Avecal President. Consel’s chairman promised to mediate, albeit always through dialogue and agreement with economic and social actors.
This sentiment has become widespread among shoe companies. Unisa CEO and head of the Technological Shoe Institute (Inescop), Antonio Porta, is very critical of the instructions given by the Ministry of Labor on the grounds that they hinder internal organization and internal organization. it even hurts job creation. “The elimination of the discontinuous fixed contract will have consequences that are difficult to predict, but I can already predict that it will all be negative,” he assures.
In a similar way, Mila García, manager of the company Pedro García, expresses no doubt when pointing to this with the requirement to transfer all workers to regular staff.they will leave us no choice but to present the editor files when our workload is reduced. It’s really incomprehensible.”
Even more powerfully, Newkers director Manuel Ruiz points out that he had to permanently hire all employees at his company who were already permanently discontinuous. “The measure – he emphasizes – has neither a beginning nor an end, so that the workers are harmed. Now, out of necessity, when activity decreases we will have to send them to unemploymentwhen they have not exhausted unemployment before”.
Pedro Miralles, the director of the company of the same name, emphasizes that the intermittent fixed line method “has always been a part of our industry” and that its disappearance “creates a great distrust”. it went well and it took longer than usual, they force you to keep the whole team stable”. For the industrialist, the measure could also have a negative impact on employment, “because people will think more about it when hiring“.
The reform will affect not only shoe companies but also the utility industry, but yes, to a lesser extent. This is expressed by Manuel Román, president of the Spanish Association of Shoe and Leather Goods Components and Machinery Companies (AEC), noting that the percentage of permanent staff in this industry is lower as it is highly specialized jobs. “We’re talking about very technical professions, so we can’t risk losing an expert because it’s very difficult to replace him later on.” Román points out that in any case, the shoe companies with whom he shares the same view will be in favor of the demands. “This is—he states—a serious problem, because the discontinuous constant is an ideal number to address the characteristics of these sectors.“.
But the shoe industry is not alone in its claims. Salvador Navarro, head of the Valencia Community Business Confederation (CEV), acknowledges that labor reform promotes employment stability, but also advocates the possibility that companies can choose for temporary contracts, as envisioned at the legislative level. in special cases. “In some sectors that have a high weight in our economy, such as tourism, footwear or agriculture, Collective bargaining should also be involved.because they are conditioned by the duration of the campaigns, the weather, and even more or less production”.
Carlos Baño, president of the Alicante Chamber of Commerce, also shows his support for the shoe. a solution agreed upon by all relevant agents. In his view, the characteristics of each sector should be taken into account when implementing the measures, and in the case of the footwear industry, additional measures should be taken to deal with one of the endemic problems, such as shortages. qualified workforce. In this sense, he explains that the city councils of Oda and Elche and Elda will promote the training of workers through two initiatives at Pikolinos and Studio Ilana.
Unions defend the government’s measure
Unlike companies, unions defend the terms of labor reform and argue that promoting permanent contracts is a way to combat the informal economy and unfair competition, which they point out is doing too much damage to shoes.
Paco García, CC OO’s general secretary at l’Alacantí and Les Marines, points out that business complaints have become “a mantra, a kind of guideline that makes no sense when almost all companies improve results.”
In this sense, the union leader refers to the tourism industry, which “has no reason to complain as we break records this summer.” Regarding shoes, he emphasizes that “this province concentrates 70% of high quality products and in addition, most companies are planning to increase their profits”.
García similarly finds it absurd that the industry is complaining about labor reform, “there are issues of unfair competition and generational change among its employees due to the informal economy. Permanent hiring helps to combat exactly both situations».
Yaissel Sánchez, general secretary of the UGT, points out that very similarly on the same border, the measure also aims to avoid picaresses that occur in certain business centers where employees are given up during vacation times. Thus, when a worker has been in a company for ten and a half months, “the logical thing – he emphasizes – is that he becomes an ordinary permanent worker, because all he has left to complete the full year are the holidays.”
For this reason, he advocates labor reform in a sector that is so affected by the informal economy and has serious problems in finding qualified labor force. “One of the formulas for solving this is to bring more stability to employment,” he concludes.
Source: Informacion
Christina Moncayo is a contributing writer for “Social Bites”. Her focus is on the gaming industry and she provides in-depth coverage of the latest news and trends in the world of gaming.