The temporality It has been entrenched in the Spanish labor market for so long that it almost seemed inevitable, especially in the hardest-hit groups (young people, women, immigrants). It is one of the structural evils of the Spanish economy, it was said, without applying any formula to combat it. until the solution has come from where it had to come: social dialogue. As a result of the agreement between unions and employers, with the mediation of the Government, the labor reform that is already giving results. Since the beginning of the year, the percentage of permanent contracts has not stopped increasing, but it was in April (when the new hiring conditions came into force) when the effect was seen more clearly: one out of every two new contracts signed last month they were already indefinite, when the usual ratio was one in 10. In addition, for the first time the figure of whats 20 million employed in Spain, despite the ominous voices announcing that the labor reform would harm employment. It has not been. That half of the new workers are with a stable contract and that, despite the uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine, jobs continue to be created can only be described as success. However, to reduce triumphalism, it is good to remember that the figures for April include those of a good Holy Week in tourist terms -the hotel industry was the most dynamic sector- and that, in the statistical computation, the discontinuous fixedwho work only a few weeks or months a year, at peak activity.
The labor reform is working thanks to the fact that the Coalition executive, unions and employers they were sensitive to the social demand to modify the most damaging aspects of the previous reform of the PP. With important concessions on the part of all the parties, in those negotiations prevailed a sense of responsibility that was lacking later, in the political sphere. The approval of the labor reform was in suspense due to the tactics of some parties -the PP of a Pablo Casado so entrenched in the no to Sánchez that he even opposed what was blessed by the CEOE, an ERC that rejected a law that improved the conditions of workers- and the surprise vote of two UPN deputies against of what was agreed by your management. In an unexpected twist, he went ahead by carom (the error of a popular deputy). A show of the most mediocre politics.
In any case, the growth of employment is a reality today and, most importantly, it does not seem to be at the cost of greater precariousness. Although this optimism may falter depending on how the conflict in Ukraine and prices evolve. Precisely, inflation is the new focus of the problem for workers and employers. The former, due to the loss of purchasing power; the latter, due to higher production costs and reduced margins. But unions and employers gave the negotiations for a salary pact this Thursday as broken, which should serve as a guide for future agreements. Bad news, because it leads to a situation of labor conflict in companies. With inflation at 8.4% in April (although it is expected to drop in the coming months), it is imperative to look for meeting points to wage increases that allow workers to face the rising cost of living without putting the economy in check. If it could be done with the labor reform, it should be possible here too.