Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Spain (Ratification: 1985)

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) and the observations of the Spanish Confederation of Employers Organizations (CEOE) transmitted with the Government’s report. The Committee also notes the Government’s responses.

Measures to meet family responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee notes that the Government refers in its report to the adoption of the MECUIDA Plan, in force until May 2021, which provides the right to workers to adapt their working day, and the possibility to reduce hours of work according to care-giving responsibilities towards dependent persons due to circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Articles 3 and 9 of the Convention. Measures to apply the Convention in order to create effective equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (1) the Equal Opportunities Strategic Plan 2014-2016 to reconcile personal, family and work life and share responsibilities, was implemented to 91 per cent; (2) the Strategic Plan for Effective Equality between Women and Men 2021-2025 is under preparation; (3) Under the II Plan for Equality between Women and Men in the General State Administration (AGE) and its public bodies, guidelines have been elaborated on reconciling personal, family and work life in the AGE; and (4) the III Gender Equality Plan in the AGE and connected or dependent public bodies includes the updating of the guidelines for leave and the work-life balance, as well the elaboration of a staff satisfaction survey on the need for a work-life balance. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the implementation and impact of the III Gender Equality Plan in the AGE and connected or dependent public bodies, and on progress in the adoption and implementation of the Strategic Plan for Effective Equality between Women and Men 2021-2025.

Article 4(b). Hours and form of work. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that Royal Decree-law No. 6/2019 of 1 March, on urgent measures to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment between women and men in employment and occupation, establishes the right to request flexible forms of work to give effect to the right to reconcile family and work life, and that: (1) flexible work concerns working time arrangements as well as the way in which the work is performed, and includes remote work; (2) terms and conditions shall be agreed through collective bargaining or, it its absence, by negotiation between the enterprise and the individual worker, and (3) there shall be the right to return to the previous contracted working time or form of work on completion of the period granted, or when altered circumstances justify it. In this regard, the Committee notes that the CCOO reiterates its previous observations that, regarding legal guardianship provisions in section 37 of the Workers’ Statute should have been amended, as they provide that the reduction of working hours may only be taken by applying the reduction to the working day. Moreover, the CCOO states that by establishing that collective agreements may set the criteria for fixing timetables according to the right to work-life reconciliation and to the enterprise’s organizational and production requirements places that right at the same level as enterprises’ organizational and production requirements. The Committee also notes, with regard to the public sector, that the Government refers to: (1) the Resolution of 28 February 2019 of the Secretary of State for the Public Service, issuing instructions on the working day and hours of work of the personnel of the General State Administration and its public bodies, which establish the possibility for public servants to work a shorter working day from 1 June to 30 September to allow for family and work life reconciliation, and the possibility to accumulate a reserve of overtime hours; and (2) Royal Decree No. 29/2020 of 29 September, on urgent measures for teleworking in the Public Administration and for human resources in the National Health System to counter the COVID-19 health crisis, under which the express authorization of telework is included in the Basic Public Employment Statute.

With regard to part-time work, the Committee also notes the Government’s indication that: (1) Royal Decree-law No. 6/2019 amends section 12(4)(d) of the Workers’ Statute to establish that the rights of workers on part-time work, which are the same as those of workers on full-time work, shall be recognized on a pro rata basis according to hours worked, where appropriate and with regard to their nature, “in all cases guaranteeing the absence of direct or indirect gender discrimination”; (2) according to the “Women in numbers” database, in 2018 women represented 95.2 per cent of persons in part-time work due to care-giving responsibilities (minors, unwell or elderly adults or persons with disabilities). The CCOO also indicates that, according to data from the National Statistical Institute, out of a total of 700,250 men and 1,996,750 women working part-time surveyed, the most commonly cited reason for undertaking part-time work was the inability to find full-time work, followed by providing care for children or unwell or elderly adults or those with disabilities, for women, and other reasons for men. The Committee also observes the Government’s indication that: (1) Royal Decree-law No. 8/2019 of 8 March on urgent measures for social protection and to combat precarious work in the working day, regulates the registry of hours of work and establishes that infringements of rules and legal limits in respect of hours of work, overtime hours and supplementary hours is classified as a serious violation; (2) as regards teleworking, under Basic Act No. 3/2018 of 5 December, on Protection of Personal Data and guarantee of digital rights, digital disconnection is recognized as a right that guarantees respect for the personal privacy of the worker and his or her family. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the number of workers in the public and private sectors who have made use of a flexible working-time measure or a specific form of work to reconcile their family and work responsibilities, disaggregated by sex; (ii) application of the right to request flexible forms of work to give effect to the right to reconcile family and work life, provided under Royal Decree-law No. 6/2019, for workers in part-time work; and (iii) whether any working time or overtime violations have been noted in respect of workers with family responsibilities who have made use of flexible forms of work, or who are working part-time, as well as any legal or administrative judgment, the sanctions imposed and remedies granted in such cases.

Leave systems. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s reference to the amendment of section 48.4 of the Workers’ Statute which brings together maternity and paternity leave in a single “leave for the birth and care of a child”, and which grants 16 weeks’ non-transferable paid leave to each parent, the first six weeks to be taken immediately following the birth, without interruption and full-time, and the remaining ten weeks to be taken as decided by the parents, in whole or in stages until the child reaches 12 months of age. The Government also specifies that: (1) a similar scheme is provided for in cases of adoption, guardianship for adoption and fostering; (2) section 37.4 of the Workers’ Statute has been amended to broaden and regulate “leave for the care of the infant” (previously leave “for breastfeeding the child”), establishing that such leave is individual and non-transferable for both parents, adoptive parents, guardians or foster parents, and that, in respect of both parents, the period of leave may be extended until the infant reaches 12 months of age, in place of the nine months provided; and (3) provision has been made for an extension (from 15 to 18 months) of the allotted period of leave if both parents take leave to provide child-care in large families. With regard to the public sector, the Committee observes that section 48(f) of the Basic Public Employment Statute has been amended to: (1) allow for an equal period of leave of 16 weeks’ duration for “parental leave for the biological mother”, and “leave for adoption, for guardianship for adoption or fostering, whether temporary or permanent”, and “leave for the parent other than the biological mother for birth, guardianship for adoption, fostering or adoption”; and (2) extend leave for breastfeeding a child under the age of 12 months to both parents, adoptive parents, guardians or foster parents. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of the new leave systems, including statistics, disaggregated by sex and family responsibilities, on the number of women and men who have taken the leave, its effective duration and the modalities under which it has been taken.

Article 5. Services and benefits for the care of other members of the family. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide statistical data on the number of persons benefiting from the system to promote personal autonomy and care for persons in a situation of dependence (SAAD), on the level and cost of the benefits. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the number of beneficiaries of the SAAD has increased progressively and as at 30 April 2021, stood at a total of 1,141,950 beneficiaries in receipt of a total of 1,453,373 services and benefits. The Government also reports that in 2017 the minimum level of SAAD benefits was updated, including both service provision (promotion of personal autonomy and prevention of situations of dependence, telecare, home-help, day or night centres and residential care), as well as financial benefits (services, personal assistance and care in the family setting). Regarding the financing of these benefits, the Committee observes that the Government has provided statistics relating to their average cost and indicates that the system is financed through contributions from the public administrations (AGE and the Autonomous Communities) and the participation of the beneficiaries. The Committee also notes that the CCOO and the CEOE refer to an agreement of 2021 between the Government and the social partners to reinforce the care system for dependent persons, which provides, among other measures and objectives, for an increase in SAAD financing, and a reduction in the waiting list for handling of requests. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the services provided by the SAAD on workers with family responsibilities (such as integration or reintegration in the labour market, increased working hours or return to the forms of work prior to implementation of flexibility measures). The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any measures adopted in application of the 2021 agreement between the Government and social partners to reinforce the care system for dependent persons, as well as on any other measures adopted or envisaged to facilitate access to SAAD services to as many workers with family responsibilities as possible.

Services and benefits for the care of children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in 2020, The Institute for Women (IMs) subsidized the promotion of the implementation and/or development at municipal level of employment plans with a gender perspective to contribute to facilitating care for minors and other groups. The Committee also observes, according to the Government, that the Plan for the Promotion of Rural Women 2015-2018 addressed the need to provide better services in rural areas, to reconcile personal, family and work life and build responsibility-sharing in those areas. The observations of the CCOO also indicate that the provision of a network of social and educational services, including universal access to schooling for children from 0 to three years old would strengthen the promotion of effective gender equality at all levels of society. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures adopted to facilitate access to care for children under 3 years of age, especially in rural areas, to make the care accessible to as many workers that need it as possible, both in terms of the number of places available and cost.

Article 7. Reintegration into the labour force of men and women workers with family responsibilities. The Committee observes that the Government refers to Act No. 6/2017 of 24 October, on Urgent Reforms for Self-employment, amending the Self-employed Workers’ Statute with regard to the right of self-employed women workers who interrupt their activity as a result of maternity, adoption, guardianship or fostering of a child, to a reduction in the self-employed workers’ contributions for 12 months if they return to work within 2 years from the date of the interruption. The obligation, to obtain access to the reduction in contributions, of employing an interim worker to replace the self-employed worker is removed. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of beneficiaries of the reduction for self-employed women workers. The Committee also requests the Government once again to provide information on the impact of the agreement on the extraordinary programme for employment activation signed by the Government and the workers’ and employers’ organizations on 15 December 2014.

Article 9. Collective bargaining. The Committee notes the Government’s indication regarding the adoption of the IV Single collective agreement for General State Administration workers, which establishes, in its section 6, that “reconciliation of family, personal and work life shall be a basic principle of the human resources policy of the General State Administration” and recognizes that promoting the principle of such reconciliation underlies questions of working time and leave, recruitment and mobility, and training and upgrading of skills. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific issues related to reconciliation of family and work responsibilities regulated by collective bargaining in the public and private sectors, including: (i) statistics on the number of collective agreements concluded; (ii) the sectors and numbers of workers disaggregated by sex covered by the agreements; and (iii) the number and nature of any complaints filed by workers under the provisions of the agreements and the results thereof.

Article 11. Equality plans. In this connection, the Committee refers to its comments formulated in respect of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and notes that the prior negotiated analysis for the elaboration of equality plans must take responsibility-sharing into consideration in the exercise of personal, family and professional rights (including, for example, information on the number of leave periods taken by workers, and their reasons, on the criteria applied and channels used to inform men and women workers of their work-life reconciliation rights, and an analysis of the ways in which enterprise prerogatives particularly affect persons with care-giving responsibilities. The Committee also observes that the equality plans must include information on measures for responsibility-sharing when exercising the right to reconcile personal, family and work life. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the trends identified in the prior analyses and the types of measures generally adopted in the equality plans to reconcile family and work responsibilities.

General observation. Regarding the above issues and more generally, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to its general observation on workers with family responsibilities, adopted on 2019. In such observation, the Committee recalls the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work’s aim to achieve gender equality at work through a transformative agenda and stresses the importance of the Convention in achieving this goal. The Committee calls for member States, and employers’ and workers’ organizations, to strengthen efforts towards: (i) making non-discrimination of workers with family responsibilities and the adoption of measures to facilitate the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities explicit aims of their national policy; (ii) regularly monitoring and assessing the results achieved within the framework of the national policy towards achieving the aims of the Convention with a view to adjusting the measures adopted or envisaged; (iii) launching regular public information campaigns to promote the sharing of family responsibilities and remove misconceptions around care roles; (iv) ensuring that workers with family responsibilities have effective equal opportunities and rights to enter, re-enter and remain integrated in the labour market; (v) expanding and increasing access of all workers to voluntary and protected measures of working arrangements and leave that facilitate reconciliation of work–family life; (vi) expanding measures that support the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities within social protection systems; (vii) establishing and expanding adequate quality childcare and family services at community level; (viii) promoting social dialogue, collective bargaining and other measures to strengthen, facilitate and encourage the implementation of the principles of the Convention; and (ix) enhancing the capacity of enforcement authorities, including labour inspectors, tribunals, courts, and other competent bodies, to identify, prevent and remedy cases of discrimination in employment and occupation related to family responsibilities. The Committee asks the government to provide information on any measures taken or foreseen to apply the points referred to above.