Government approves new reform of stevedore sector

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Council of Ministers approved a new Royal Decree Law modifying the workers' regime for the provision of port services to handle goods, which changes some aspects of the law presented on 24 February.

The Minister for Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna, explained that the obligation to increase the employers' quota for contingencies in temporary employment contracts with an effective term of less than seven days has been removed. This modification, he said, "should clear away any doubts regarding weaker labour protection".

As regards the hiring of workers, the new text establishes that it is not necessary to hold a Vocational Training qualification since no specific qualification exists that corresponds to the activity of the handling of goods. The certificate of professionalism contained in the previous Royal Decree Law will require professional work experience to have been performed, without an employment contract, at port facilities, which will be issued by an official institute, such as the SEPE [State public employment service], pointed out the minister. In fact, he clarified that "there is free access to this certificate of professionalism and the corresponding work experience".
The minister specified that the professional work experience will amount to 660 hours. At least 75% of this must be carried out at the port while a simulator may be used for the other 25%.

Íñigo de la Serna also highlighted that stevedores will continue to perform the task of loading and unloading all unregistered vehicles on the understanding that "the stevedore sector is not a monopoly", but a liberal sector. When, on specific occasions, the number of stevedores is insufficient to perform this work, because the demand is higher than usual, third-party resources may be used".

The new Royal Decree-Law also provides for the possibility of port-to-port agreements so that, within the framework of collective bargaining, the trade unions and business owners can address their specific needs.

Implementation of Royal Decree-Law

Pool Moncloa/J. M. CuadradoThe minister confirmed that the government is terminating a Royal Decree to implement the Royal Decree-Law approved on Friday, 12 May, which it will probably present to the employers' association, the trade unions and the political groups the following week for them to make their suggestions.

At any event, underlined Íñigo de la Serna, the text already contains the agreements reached between the employers' association and the trade unions with the mediation of the government representative, Marcos Peña. He highlighted that the proposal seeks to maintain the jobs of current SAGEP workers, improve the organisation and productivity of the sector and establish a system of subsidies for older workers that meet a series of requirements.

Íñigo de la Serna underlined that the new reform has been notified to the European Commission, which has expressed its conformity with the rules contained therein. He also declared that the government intends to present this on 18 May in the Lower House of Parliament for its ratification.

Subsidies granted to conserve historical heritage

The Council of Ministers authorised the Ministry of Public Works to issue a call for proposals to grant subsidies for actions designed to conserve or enrich Spanish historical heritage charged to the 1.5% cultural programme. The maximum amount of this aid will be 50.52 million euros, with 25.68 million euros due to be paid out in 2018 and 24.83 million in 2019.

The Minister for Public Works reported that the beneficiaries may be individuals or non profit-making public or private entities that meet a series of requirements and that hold properties or an assignment for use thereof for a minimum term of 50 years.

Íñigo de la Serna specified that the average contribution made by the Ministry for Public Works will be two-thirds of the sum per project, with the remaining one-third provided by the applicant. This raft of aid, he added, seeks to mobilise investments worth 75 million euros through approximately 100 actions distributed throughout the country.

The minister announced that over the course of this term of office, his department seeks to mobilise 350 million euros to architectural heritage.

Other agreements

Pool Moncloa/J.M. CuadradoThe Council of Ministers approved a Bilateral Agreement on National Insurance Contributions between Spain and China. According to the Government Spokesperson and Minister for Education, Culture and Sport, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, the agreement will benefit some 600 Spanish companies - mainly small- and medium-sized enterprises - established in China, with the aim of avoiding making double National Insurance contributions.
On another note, the government appointed the Central Government representatives as members of the Coordination Commission for the Economic Agreement between the State and the Provincial Council of Navarre. Íñigo Méndez de Vigo recalled that in recent months the government has already addressed financing for the Regional Governments of the Canary Islands and the Basque Country.

The government also approved a Royal Decree implementing the basic structure of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality. The main new feature is that the National Transplant Organisation (Spanish acronym: ONT) becomes an independent body with the status of a General Directorate. The Council of Ministers also appointed Beatriz Domínguez-Gil as the new Director General of the ONT, to replace Rafael Matesanz.

Lastly, the Council of Ministers approved a Declaration on the occasion of the International day against Homophobia and Transphobia, to be held on 17 May. In the text, the government expresses "its absolute commitment to the eradication of any form of discrimination, hatred or violence" on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Balance of the week

In his assessment of the week's agenda, the Government Spokesperson highlighted the issues related to Europe.

Firstly, due to the celebration of Europe Day on 9 May and the award of the Carlos V Prize to the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marcelino Oreja, "who, 40 years ago, presented Spain's application to join the then-European Communities with the backing of all the parliamentary groups in Parliament".

Pool Moncloa/J.M. CuadradoSecondly, due to the election of Emmanuel Macron as President of the French Republic. In his opinion, the election of Emmanuel Macron was a vote in favour of Europe, of multilateralism, of an open society and of reformism. "The President of the Government highlighted this in his message of congratulations: moderation has prevailed, and constructive proposals have defeated the extremists and destructive solutions", he said.

The Government Spokesperson also referred to the meeting that was held at Moncloa Palace on 10 May between Mariano Rajoy and the European Commission's Chief Brexit Negotiator, Michel Barnier. The government wants Europe to reach the best possible agreement with the United Kingdom, that the negotiations are swift and intelligent, that the damage caused by the exit of the United Kingdom is limited and, above all, that this takes into account, and is beneficial for, its citizens", he remarked.

On the sidelines of European issues, the minister mentioned the official visit that the President of the Government will make to China from 13 to 15 May to take part in the Belt and Road Forum, which seeks to foster greater integration between China and its Western neighbours. Mariano Rajoy will also hold a meeting with the Chinese President and Premier.

Responsibility in approving the Budget

At an economic level, the Government Spokesperson highlighted that the Spring Report of the Economic Commission, published during the week, raises the growth forecast for Spain in 2017 to 2.8%, "even higher" than the government's forecast.

Íñigo Méndez de Vigo associated this growth with the approval of the General State Budget, which continues its passage through the Lower House of Parliament after the amendment to the whole Budget was rejected last week. This good progress led the Government Spokesperson, "on behalf of the government, to call for responsibility from the political groups".

State spending contained in the draft Budget, he explained, amounts to 123 billion euros, while accepting the amendments that the groups have presented for each heading of the public accounts would mean increasing this by a further 63 billion. "It is clear that this is incompatible with a decision taken by the Lower House of Parliament by a very large majority just a few months ago to set a ceiling on spending", he argued.

Current affairs

Pool Moncloa/J.M. CuadradoWhen asked about the government's opinion of the recording of a business owner who admitted making payments to the former Treasurer of the People's Party, Álvaro la Puerta, in exchange for certain concessions, the Government Spokesperson stressed that the government is unaware of the authenticity of this recording and that President of the Government Rajoy "expresses his outright rejection that he has been subject to any form of blackmail". These are conversations between private individuals, added Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, that affect the people talking but which "cannot be attributed to those people who had nothing to do with them".

As regards the possibility, after a father killed his son, of pushing through changes to the legislation on abuse, the minister said that "this is a deplorable situation that we greatly regret" and that "the efforts to raise awareness and report abuse will never be sufficient", but he argued that any regulatory changes "must always be carried out with a cool head and with the consensus of all the political forces".

In relation to the non-legislative proposal, approved by the Lower House of Parliament, to exhume the remains of Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen, the minister recalled that 40 years ago Spain was "a model of democratic transition" in which many people made an effort to overcome the confrontations of the Civil War. In respect of that, he considers that it "is not a good idea to re-open old wounds and stories". Also in regard to this issue, the proposal from the leader of Ciudadanos to convert the Valley of the Fallen into a space that is similar to Arlington National Cemetery in the United States, was assessed by Íñigo Méndez de Vigo as "an unusual proposal, but one that will be studied".

In regard to the new direct intervention by President of the Government Rajoy in the negotiations of the Budget for 2017, he pointed out that at present "negotiations are on an eminently technical point" "in relation to the budget headings", which does not prevent the President of the Government from intervening "to the extent necessary" because budgetary policy "is key" and should the Budget not be approved, "this would be bad news for the interests of the Spanish people".

In relation to the demand from the Government of Venezuela to ensure the physical integrity of its diplomats in Spain, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo stressed that "at no time" at the public event attended by the ambassador of that country in ours has a "kidnapping" taken place, that the exits from the premises "were never blocked" and that the police guaranteed its evacuation. In fact, "the ambassador himself expressed his gratitude for the measures taken", concluded Íñigo Méndez de Vigo.

In relation to the request made by some political groups for the Minister for Justice and State and Anti-corruption Public Prosecutors to resign, the Government Spokesperson pointed out that it is not "good to damage the State institutions", which the Public Prosecution Service forms part of, and called for these issues to be dealt with "carefully", "prudently" and "with a certain calm", because the government acts "with tremendous transparency in these processes".

The Minister for Public Works stated that, given that this is an infrastructure "of general State interest", the management of the AP-9 motorway will be studied by a joint committee of the government and the Regional Government of Galicia, in which "decision-making will be shared".