The recent changes to the collective bargaining structure have been met with criticism from both unions and employers. They believe that the regulatory modification, which grants regional collective agreements precedence over state sectoral ones, is a breach of their autonomy as social agents. The Ministry of Labor claims that the changes were known and debated for a long time, but social agents feel that there was a lack of negotiation in the decision-making process.
The CC OO union has publicly criticized the Government’s decision, arguing that it interferes with the functions assigned to union and business organizations by the Spanish Constitution. While they are open to negotiating changes, they have criticized the lack of involvement of social agents in the decision-making process. Similarly, UGT has emphasized the importance of social dialogue in such matters and criticized the same lack of negotiation.
Business organizations have echoed these criticisms, stating that the changes undermine market unity and will harm companies in Spain. Despite previous attempts to introduce these changes in labor reform drafts, the lack of formal dialogue with social partners has caused discontent among them. In addition to this decree, other issues such as modifications to termination of employment contracts and Law regulating Economic and Social Council have also faced criticism from social agents.
The recurring issue of not consulting with social agents when implementing changes to collective bargaining has led to tension between the Government and social partners. The decree approved by Council of Ministers sparked further criticism from unions and business organizations, highlighting once again
