The Council of Ministers approves the Public Employment Offer for 2023, with a total of 39,574 vacancies

The Council of Ministers has approved the Public Employment Offer (OEP) corresponding to the year 2023, which includes a total of 39,574 vacancies between the different departments of the General State Administration, the Justice Administration, the National Police Corps, the Civil Guard and the Armed Forces.

The Minister for Treasury and Public Function, María Jesús Montero, has framed the EPO as part of the process of strengthening the welfare state as a guarantee of equal opportunities and the protection of the rights of the social majority. Montero argued that public policies are "a safety net for people" and that the key to the "constitutional architecture we have endowed ourselves with lies in the public employees of this country, in their professionalism, dedication and effort, which have enabled us to overcome one of the most complicated periods of our recent history and to address not only the urgent, but also the present and future challenges".

The Minister for Finance also assured that the defence of public employment is compatible with the commitment to the creation of stable and quality employment in the private sector, as demonstrated by the record figures for social security contributors.

Net job creation

As María Jesús Montero, the OEP 2023, agreed with the trade unions UGT and CSIF, has four basic axes: it creates net employment by not limiting itself to covering staff losses; it reinforces the commitment to quality employment; it provides sufficient staff for new services; and it favours the attraction of talent to the administration.

The replacement rate varies according to the corps: the ordinary rate is 110%, the rate for priority sectors is 120%, and the rate for the state law enforcement forces and agencies, and regional and local police is 125%. To this effect, this year's EPO totals 39,574 vacancies, 15.8% more than in 2022 and a new all-time record, the third in a row. Of this total, 27,246 vacancies correspond to the free shift, which in the minister's opinion constitutes "a great effort" aimed at those who wish to develop their professional lives in the service of the citizens as a whole.

By industry, 29,818 posts are allocated to the General State Administration, of which almost 20,000 are for new recruits and the rest for internal promotion. In the Justice Administration, 1,907 vacancies are offered (1,215 new recruits); in the National Police Force, 2,833 vacancies (2,600 new recruits); and in the Civil Guard, 2,875 vacancies (2,520 new recruits). To these posts must be added the 2,141 posts already approved on 3 May for the Armed Forces and the Officer Scale of the Civil Guard.

Control of seasonality and reinforcement of citizen services

The Minister for Treasury and Public Function, María Jesús Montero, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The job offer is also in line with the objective of keeping the temporary employment rate in the public sector below 8%, as set out in the law approved by the executive to give stability to employment in the administration and act as a reference for the labour market as a whole.

To this end, the EPO includes 1,025 positions in the social security for the management of the Minimum Basic Income and 500 positions in the scale of nationally qualified civil servants, who mainly work in the Local Administration.

The Minister for Treasury and Public Function also highlighted the offer of 2,500 vacancies for social security management bodies, with the aim of facilitating face-to-face attention and assistance to citizens. Montero stressed the need to reinforce staffing levels to continue making progress in the digitisation of the administration and to guarantee that those entitled to benefits receive them without delays.

What's new in the selection processes?

Among the new features of the OEP, María Jesús Montero pointed out that, with the aim of speeding up the selection processes, all calls for applications will have to be published before 31 December 2023. Furthermore, the processes, including the resolution of the allegations, will have to be completed within two years.

It is a matter of correcting the excessive delay that had been occurring "endemically" both in the call for exams since the approval of the OEP, and in the process of holding exams and the culmination of the process. These changes respond to the historical demands of candidates "who, before applying for another job offer want to know if the last application has been successful, and if so to be able to start as soon as possible", said Montero.

No need to lay people off in times of crisis

The government has regulated the Employment Flexibility and Stabilisation RED Mechanism, which is an instrument designed to maintain employment in crisis situations. It allows companies to apply for measures to reduce working hours and suspend employment contracts for their workers.

The Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has maintained that "in times of crisis, we must not lay anyone off, but maintain jobs" and this mechanism is the antidote to avoid this, as was demonstrated during the pandemic.

In contrast to proposals like the 'Austrian rucksack', which means that workers would have to leave at their own expense in the event of dismissal, Yolanda Díaz stressed that the government is committed to the Network Mechanism, which compiles the successful actions adopted in the pandemic. These actions helped more than half a million businesses and protected more than 3.6 million workers.

This collective fund will save companies and workers, when they need it, in two situations that are "absolutely exceptional", as the vice-president explained: "When we have cyclical crises and when we have industry crises", as some productive sectors in Spain are currently experiencing.

The Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Yolanda Díaz recalled that the Red Mechanism is included in the so-called labour reform, which guarantees employment stability and the transformation of the labour market. The executive has today agreed on its regulatory development, which contemplates the benefits in social security contributions for companies that take advantage of it, as well as the training actions and the commitment to maintaining employment to which the contribution exemptions are linked. The competent labour authorities are responsible for initiating the procedure and examining applications for assistance.

The vice-president detailed that workers will have 70% of their salary protected for the duration of the measure and will be able to access a benefit, even if they do not meet the usual contribution conditions. The government will pay the social security contributions of companies that meet certain requirements and activate this mechanism to re-qualify their workers. "It is not a question of laying people off, it is a question of relocating workers in other industries that have productive activity in our country", he stressed.

Díaz also pointed out that companies that have been subject to seasonal redundancy programmes (Expedientes de Regulación de Empleo - ERTE) will have their social security contributions reduced by 40%. If the dossiers are cyclical, companies will be exempted from 60% of the fees for the first four months, 30% for the next four months, and 20% from the ninth month onwards.

In addition, companies using this mechanism will not be able to work overtime or hire staff. In addition, if they fail to comply with the conditions, they will have to repay in full all social benefits of the workers covered by the measure.

This mechanism will be endowed annually with an allocation in the budget, as well as with the surplus of workers' unemployment contributions, the surplus of unused bonuses and €3 billion from European funds, according to Díaz.

€50 million to the Andalusia Employment Plan

The second vice-president also informed that the government has authorised a subsidy of €50 million for the Andalusia Employment Plan from the budget of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), after receiving the documentation from this community last week.

The employment plan focuses on hiring unemployed people in Andalusia and improving the employability of workers, especially young people.

Withdrawal of Labour Merit Medals

The Council of Ministers has agreed to withdraw the Medals of Merit for Work awarded to nine people who actively and prominently took part in the repression following the 1936 coup d'état: the dictator Francisco Franco Baamonde, Enrique Pla i Deniel, José Ramón de Carranza, José Luis de Arrese Magra, José María Fernández Ladreda, José Solís Ruiz, Juan Yagüe Blanco, Jesús Romero Gorría and José Antonio Girón de Velasco.

Yolanda Díaz said at the press conference following the Council of Ministers that these people "represent the worst of the Franco regime", and that "the only work the people whose merits we are withdrawing today have done is to repeatedly violate human rights and trample democracy in our country".

National Strategy for Combating Homelessness 2023-2030

The Government Spokesperson and Minister for Territorial Policy, Isabel Rodríguez, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The government has approved the National Strategy to combat homelessness in Spain 2023-2030, a framework for action to address the situation of the 28,500 homeless people in Spain.

The Minister for Territorial Policy and government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, explained that the aim of the strategy is to reduce the number of people in this situation by 95% over the next seven years.

According to data from the National Institute of Statistics in 2022, that year there were 28,552 homeless people, of whom 7,277 were on the streets, 11,498 in shelters and reception centres and 9,778 in flats and guesthouses for the homeless.

Isabel Rodríguez stressed that the strategy stems from the government's commitment to provide a comprehensive and coordinated response with all public administrations to the situation of these people, who we sometimes make invisible. The spokesperson reviewed the initiatives adopted by the executive to address the reality of the homeless, among which she highlighted those adopted with local administrations to seek climatic shelters to alleviate their situation of high temperatures.

Infrastructure in investment

The government has agreed to invest €414 million to improve the road surface of 1,515km of conventional roads, affecting 13 autonomous communities. Among these investments, Isabel Rodríguez highlighted that the Seville-Madrid high-speed line will receive €53 million for technological improvements.

Other agreements

Isabel Rodríguez also reported that the Council of Ministers has agreed to allocate €70 million so that local councils can improve their cybersecurity.

In addition, the government has approved the creation of the Central Registry of Real Estate Titles and its regulations. The purpose of this measure, she said, is to protect the integrity of the financial system in different sectors of economic activity, and to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In addition, the executive is committed to promoting Madrid's candidacy to host the headquarters of the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority.

Non official translation