Government agrees to submit supplementary pension payment for working mothers to Toledo Pact

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Council of Ministers agreed to send the Toledo Pact Committee of the Lower House of Parliament a proposal to recognise the demographic contribution to the social security system of working women that combine their professional career with motherhood. This measure is included in the Comprehensive Family Support Plan 2015-2017 approved by the government on 14 May.

The Minister for Employment and Social Security, Fátima Báñez, explained that "Spain has already acted on the European recommendation on equality policies for pension systems" by introducing an additional supplement linked to contributory retirement, incapacity and widowhood pensions for women who have given birth to two or more children.

The proposal affects women who retire as from 1 January 2016, although it falls to the Toledo Pact Committee to debate the scope of the measure.

Pool MoncloaThe government estimates that 123,357 women will benefit from this measure in 2016 and some 455,504 by 2019. Fátima Báñez specified that above all this will benefit working mothers on average salaries, and hence, on average retirement pensions. Moreover, she stressed that countries like France, Germany and Luxembourg already have supplementary pensions of this nature.

For the first time, "Spain will recognise the contribution made by women to society, and hence to the pension system, according to the number of children they have", the Minister said.

Fátima Báñez added that the initiative is in line with the measures taken by the government in a term of office "of more opportunities, more rights and greater social protection for women in terms of employment and social security".

In this regard, she recalled that there are now 90,000 more women working than in 2011. Moreover, in terms of reconciliation between work and family life, the government agreed a new regulation for part-time contracts that allows work and childcare to be combined; it also regulates tele-work and will harmonise the reduction in the working day for the childcare of working women in the private sector with those working in the public sector.

"For the first time in Spain, we will ensure better reconciliation of work and family life for the self-employed. This will lead to more rights in employment terms as well as greater social protection", she underlined.

Higher Sports Council

Pool MoncloaThe government has approved a Royal Decree regulating the Charter of the Higher Sports Council. The changes that have taken place in institutions with powers on sports issues and the current economic situation have led to the need for a revision of the structure of this body.

The Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, explained that the aim of the new legislation is to ensure greater coordination and control of material and human resources assigned to the Council, and establish mechanisms that ensure effective equality between men and women. "We believe that this is a major change at a time when Spanish women's sport is enjoying one of its best periods ever, if not the best".

Moreover, the text modifies the regime for top-level athletes to acknowledge the role played by support athletes that work with those suffering from disability.

Sports Health Protection Agency

The Council of Ministers also regulated, by means of a Royal Decree, the Charter of the Sports Health Protection Agency, which will take on the powers of the Higher Sports Council on issues of the protection and health of athletes.

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría announced that the agency will be tasked with the planning and performance of doping controls, administering the results and handling any potential disciplinary procedures. An inter-regional commission to protect sports health, with participation from all the autonomous regions will form part of this agenda.

According to the Vice-President of the Government, the most important aspect is strengthening the technical and functional independence regime of the doping control laboratory, which will henceforth be structured as a new department under the auspices of the Spanish Sports Health Protection Agency.

Manipulating results of sports competitions

Pool MoncloaThe government has authorised the signing of a Council of Europe convention that seeks to combat the manipulation of the results of sports competitions. The aims of the convention are to prevent, uncover and penalise the national or transnational manipulation of competitions and promote national and international cooperation to combat the manipulation of the results of competitions between public authorities, organisations in the sporting world and sports betting.

The Vice-President of the Government pointed out that "the growing commercialisation of sporting events in recent years has been accompanied by new forms of corruption related to betting, the manipulation of results and very often cases of money laundering".

The Council of Europe has warned of the dangers of this for the integrity and image of sport and has taken avoidance measures. Firstly, by recommending the adaptation of State legislation to introduce early warning systems, harmonising cross-border criteria and adopting sanctions. It also recommends banning betting on those competitions most vulnerable to corruption and adopting coordination measures between public authorities, sports organisations and gaming operators so that the fight against corruption in sport includes all the parties involved.

Other agreements

The Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree regulating the instruments and procedures to coordinate subsidies aimed at boosting the information society between the different public authorities involved in rolling out broadband.
The Vice-President of the Government pointed out that a detailed map of the reception of broadband will be drawn up that facilitates the precise design of these subsidies. The State Secretariat for Telecommunications and the Information Society will approve a series of guidelines for the public administration services with the aim of announcing the provisions of these subsidies.

On another note, the government authorised the acquisition of a remote monitoring, control and surveillance service for the presence and consumption of alcoholic beverages and the location of individuals subject to the control of Penitentiary Institutions.

Furthermore, the government authorised temporary residency for Saharawi minors visiting Spain within the framework of the "Holidays in Peace 2015" Programme.

Current affairs

Pool MoncloaIn response to questions from journalists enquiring after the meeting recently held between Mariano Rajoy and Pedro Sánchez and in ascertaining the government's position on the request from the General Secretary of the PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers' Party] to change economic policy, the Vice-President of the Government expressed the government is concerned by the standpoint of the leader of the PSOE on this issue.

Spain has gone through a very harsh economic crisis since 2007, stated Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, and "now that our economic policies are starting to bear fruit and we are starting to bed down economic growth in contrast to the years of recession we went through, and now that jobs are starting to be created, in contrast to the years in which three and a half million jobs were shed, the PSOE is now calling for a change of policy" that includes those "measures proposed by the radical left".

According to the Vice-President of the Government, this is a time "for stability, for certainty, for generating confidence in many Spaniards that are hopeful of finding a job", and for speeding up the recovery.

As regards the meeting held between the President of the Government and the leader of Ciudadanos, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said that talks will be held on specific pacts in each and every place in which it is possible, whilst upholding the principle that it is good for the party with the most voted-for lists to form stable local councils.

In response to the collective bargaining agreement to be signed by social stakeholders next week, Minister Báñez pointed out that the decision to raise salaries by up to 1% will enable a general improvement to be made to salaries, companies to be more competitive and, "what is most important, leave room for many registered unemployed to join the labour market shortly".