End labor reform designed by the second vice president and leader Yolanda Diaz reversed some measures introduced by the PP in 2012. Collective bargaining rules were adjusted to rebalance the leverage between unions and employers, and temporary measures were reduced to historic lows, occurring in record time.
Yet the negotiated reform left part of the legacy intact from Mariano Rajoy. The framework did not fully resolve issues surrounding wage processing, compensation for terminations, or the handling of certain cases. It also did not close one of the gaps in employment relations. Some workers hired through subcontracting in large projects, such as the Camp Nou stadium, face ongoing difficulties. The government’s broader goals for the current legislature remain unsettled.
The 2012 PP rule had made requirements more flexible, allowing companies, under certain circumstances, to legally set wages below the industry standard. It was technically known as non-implementation or withdrawal of the agreement. The ministry of Labor, later called Employment, justified this by arguing that the move helped crisis-hit firms temporarily reduce wage bills. This kept plants open and workers employed, with wages returned later.
Different sources describe this as a theory more than a practice. In fields like construction, some firms use this quitting formula to compete with rivals paying lower wages. They may involve a works council aligned with management, sign an agreement with them, and legitimize wage cuts. While not universal, several voices warn this practice harms unions.
At Camp Nou, Barça estimates around 20 subcontractors exist in the football complex supply chain. Investigative work identified a dozen individuals connected to studies by name and by CIFs. At least one person reported wage reductions to the Registration and Deposit of Collective Agreements. The others either follow the agreement or pay less than it dictates without proper checks, a pattern that could amount to fraud.
According to the head of labor law at ICAB, Maximum Arias, non-implementation without formal recording is not legal. In the five payslips reviewed from five different companies, no official departures were documented at the start of the inquiry.
Salary relief
The secretary of union policy for UGT in Catalonia argues that the broad basis for withdrawal from a contract makes it easy for a firm to skirt agreed wages. Nuria Gilgado notes that a profitable company claiming lower future billing might be set back by strict expectations for wage assurance.
Conversely, the Foment del Treball employers’ association contends that the rules are not lax. They emphasize that workers need robust representation for any suspension to proceed. The association’s head of labor relations adds that the formula can be used, but if it is, it becomes redundant and should be carefully justified.
A few observers believe that abuse does not occur where unions are strong; yet where workers lack means to defend themselves, such tactics can emerge. Christina Torre, a trade union action secretary for Catalonia CCOO, cautions that a period of blackout is hard to sustain legally without transparency and practical common sense, as noted by Jordi Garcia Vina, a professor at UB. The issue of limited unionization and lack of transparency among Camp Nou subcontractors is repeatedly highlighted by workers.
How many workers were affected by the wage constraints in Catalonia remains unclear. The Generalitat’s Labor Department records companies that filed new applications during the period but does not quantify how long the measures lasted or when applications were rejected. A total of 2,048 workers were affected by the outage from January to October of the current year, though this figure does not indicate how many of the 3,388 affected in 2022 remained affected in 2022 or how many of the 1,142 people in 2021 continued to be affected later.
Struggle anticipated in this legislative period
The lingering impact of the PP labor reform remains on the agenda as the coalition promises a review. The government agreement between PSOE and Sumar states that reasons for using certain procedures will be examined to ensure they only apply when a company’s viability is at stake.
Employers resist the elimination of internal flexibility measures, while unions generally welcome closer review of any wage-cutting steps to verify real justification in advance. There is talk of restoring administrative oversight over employment regulation files, similar to measures before Rajoy’s reform, a concept that the 2021 reform did not fully improve.