The Generalitat is experiencing the paradox of finding itself at a time when more people are employed by the public institution, but it does so with fewer civil servants than in 2009. Working in management is less and less a matter of civil servants. The crisis shook public human resources management and changed the understanding that entering the public sector is a vital guarantee. What is gaining prominence now is temporary employment, especially temporary employment; This figure has tripled in the last 10 years and poses a problem for Consell in the near future.
According to that 2022 Generalitat audit report HE Audit Office According to data presented at the end of December, the Autonomous Administration has 156,783 employees; That’s 35,000 more than a decade ago (28.5% more). However, this increase occurs with 2,000 fewer employees (From 56,820 in 2012 to 54,663 in 2022) and 10,000 fewer permanent legal workers (medical personnel) than in 2012, From 27,406 to 17,297. In fact, although that year employees of both individuals with ownership positions represented 69% of the Valencian public workforce, in 2022 it was 45%.
“The increase in temporary employment as a whole is striking,” the Ombudsman warns: Vincent Cucarella, It was delivered to Cortes and Consell on 22 December. The decrease in the number of permanent public employees is compensated by the inflow of temporary personnel, primarily temporary staff. These have almost tripled in ten years: from 13,037 a decade ago to 35,591 by the end of 2022. Something similar to what happens with temporary legal members, It rose from 18,607 to 41,729, resulting in half the workforce being temporary, compared to 28% in 2012.
These figures could not be reached just for this reason. The main reason for this was that the renewal rate set by the central government in 2013 in response to the crisis prevented the renewal of vacant positions. Given the staffing needs, the then Consell del Botànic used temporary recruitment. In addition, numerous delays were piling up in public job searches. Moreover, the arrival of the pandemic worsened the situation: the Generalitat’s workforce increased by 13,000 people between 2019 and 2020, almost all of whom were again temporary.
The data provided by the Audit Office is for 2022; It is a static image of a moment that will undergo changes over the last twelve months but will be a problem that the current Consell will have to confront. The European Union asked Spain to take action against this situation, and the target was set to reduce temporary employment to 8 percent. This figure will be difficult to reach, although processes have been opened for the Valencian Public Service with up to 7,500 stabilization places since 2017 and 4,500 stabilization places for Health two weeks ago.
Problems at the end of the year
Many of these processes are a result of the decree law on reducing temporary employment in public employment, which the central government approved at the end of 2021.. These seek to stabilize positions occupied by temporary workers; But although the unions have already warned that not all available positions can be taken, among them is an extraordinary call that Consell accepted at the end of the year: It adds that most of the positions in question are not taken up by temporary employees, but are rewarded by officials who provide internal promotions.
But for Consell, the problem will come at the end of 2024. The stabilization law came into force on December 28, 2021. This shows that from that moment on, Consell’s seconded workers will not be able to continue their work. be more than three years. At the end of this period, the temporary relationship will terminate and the vacancy can only be filled by career civil servants, unless the relevant selection process is invalid, a failure that would require the relevant compensation.