The Ministry of Public Service and the unions CC OO, UGT and CSIF agreed on Tuesday on the need to design an alternative mechanism for planning labor needs in public administrations, which goes beyond what is currently known as the replacement rate and which is limited to allowing the replacement of a greater or lesser percentage than losses due to retirement, according to sources close to these conversations.
This future mechanism, which they intend to progressively replace the replacement rate, would be based on objective criteria and forecasts of personnel needs. This framework can be used for the calculation and approval of future public job offers. However, the CSIF insists on the need to completely eliminate the current replacement rate, something that the general secretary of UGT Public Services, Isabel Araque, also agrees with.
This was one of the topics discussed this Tuesday in the negotiations opened by the Government and the Public Service unions to approve a new multi-year framework agreement on working conditions for 3.5 million public employees. In Tuesday’s meeting, the negotiators addressed the chapter on employment and postponed the aspects related to wage improvements until next Wednesday 19th.
Therefore, in addition to the establishment of a new multi-year planning mechanism for human resources needs, the possible agreement will also provide for a reduction in the maximum terms for carrying out personnel selection processes and, specifically, a shortening of the procedures up to the assumption of the role. Currently, these processes can last up to two years or even more, which unions consider unacceptable, especially given the massive retirements that the public sector will experience in the coming years.
In this same sense, the negotiators aim to progressively adapt the contents of the oppositions to the current educational model, focused on emphasizing skills, rather than memorization. And also professionalize the selection bodies (courts) so that they are also more stable. Finally, the need to publish calendars for carrying out these selection processes was addressed, to ensure predictability for those applying for positions.
Furthermore, the Government and trade unions have agreed to promote a specific model of access to public employment through internal promotion, differentiated from free shifts. To this end, the pilot projects will be developed in specific calls and their results will be monitored. The points discussed also include the commitment to strengthen citizen service desks, through in-person, telephone or electronic methods. They also added a new section on occupational health and prevention of psychosocial risks, which did not exist in the previous agreement. Among the prevention measures they have established that the protection of staff who directly serve the public will be guaranteed, with protocols against attacks and psychological assistance if necessary.
To evaluate all these changes, the negotiators also agreed on the need to create a public employment observatory which, among other things, prepares an annual report on the results on streamlining selection processes and the evolution of temporary work in administrations. The public sector currently has a rate of temporary workers close to 30%, compared to 12% in the private sector and the 8% that Spain is committed to in Europe.
After Tuesday’s meeting, the unions expressed hope that the employment negotiations will yield results. Although the CSIF considered, among other things, that the proposal to create an alternative mechanism to the replacement rate “is still insufficient”. According to this centre, if we want to definitively put an end to the abuse of temporary work, “we must directly eliminate the replacement rate and carry out a study on the needs of the workforce”.
