The employers from Ibiza and Formentera warn that the Royal Decree-Law 32/2021 of urgent measures for labor reform, employment stability, and labor market transformation, published yesterday in the BOE, will delay job creation in these islands as it is now drafted, awaiting passage via the parliamentary process. José Antonio Roselló, vice president of the Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB), emphasizes “the time bomb” that is point 6 of Article 16, dedicated to the permanent seasonal workers (fijos discontinuos), because he considers it will make dismissing such personnel more expensive.
It was an “unexpected” article that, according to Roselló, “was snuck” into the social table negotiations. There had previously been no comment on its content. In fact, he adds he gets “the impression” that the hotel industry, which has been hit the most, has been used as a “scapegoat in this case to avoid accepting other things” in this reform. According to this article, “the permanent seasonal workers (fijos discontinuos) are entitled to have their seniority computed taking into account the complete period of the employment relationship rather than the time of services actually given.” In practice, this increases the cost of dismissal significantly.
The permanent seasonal workers (fijos discontinuos) are entitled to have their seniority computed taking into account the complete period of the employment relationship rather than the time of services actually given
An example in seasonal Ibiza
Roselló uses the following example to demonstrate the importance of this reform in a business: “Until now, there has been a six-month employment guarantee with permanent seasonal staff.” If a worker is employed for two years, he works for a total of 12 months, so that if his contract is cancelled or he is fired, 12 months are included when rewarding him. With this labor reform, those 12 months become 24, doubling the amount of compensation to be paid.”
Because the majority of the workers in Ibiza are permanent seasonal employees (fijos discontinuos), this move has come as a cold shower. And more than there will be with this change, whose goal is to reduce temporality: “A flexible economy might produce employment provided there is an assumption that it will not be a burden,” warns Roselló, adding that labor reform “may reduce temporality, but it has to be seen whether it will cause employment growth.” “We’ll see,” he says, “if corporations would contemplate adding more employment as a result of this. When aspects of rigidity are introduced, issues arise.” Because, he claims, “this reform is hasty, as it eliminates crucial elements of flexibility that have been producing employment for many years.” The goal of lowering temporary employment “should have been accomplished much more slowly; realistically, many activities will face difficulties in providing employment presently.”
This judgment is shared by Alfonso Rojo, president of the Petita I Mitjana Empresa d’Ibiza I Formentera (Pimeef), who believes that “the labor reform will condition future recruiting.” “When it comes to hiring, a very strict restriction will cause the employer to recede” (…) If the legislation continues to impose impediments, it will no longer be able to hire the same people. It may provide better security to the worker, certainly,” Rojo cautions, “but if the employer does not understand it clearly, he will not make large hiring estimates if he believes that, in the long run, it would be damaging to him.”
When it comes to hiring, a very strict restriction will cause the employer to recede (…) If the legislation continues to impose impediments, it will no longer be able to hire the same people
In the long run, the CAEB president believes that “the change may be interesting in certain ways, as it lowers excessive temporary work situations, considering that some organizations may have used temporary employment in a misleading manner.”
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.