White smoke in the reform for the unemployment benefits. UGT and CCOO have given their approval this Wednesday to the offer presented to them by the Ministry of Labor on Monday and will sign an agreement this Wednesday so that the Government can take the text to the Council of Ministers. A pact that It closes without the support of the employers and that the vice president Yolanda Diaz and the leaders of UGT and CCOO will sign in a signing ceremony this Wednesday.
Last Monday, Labor and unions had an intense meeting in which Díaz’s department presented them with a final draft with important modifications. The unions asked that a couple of pending issues be retouched and submitted the text to their decision-making bodies, which finally gave it the green light this morning.
This reform is crucial to receive the fourth payment of European funds, endowed with 10,000 million in direct aid. The European Commission has until May 20 to evaluate the reforms included in this tranche of aid. If the rule is not ready then, Spain risks receiving a partial disbursement or freezing of European money until the situation is resolved. A possibility that would have rather symbolic or reputational effects, since as soon as compliance with the reform is proven, payments are unblocked.
The main novelty included in the new agreed text is that the overquotation of 125% of the minimum base is maintained for the aid modality for those over 52 years of age. This point was what caused the parliamentary failure of the norm last January. Then, the Podemos deputies decided to vote against the validation of the decree, alleging that it was a cut for the future pensions of these people.
In addition, the current text includes other measures that were not provided for in the decree that expired in January, such as the Possibility of combining unemployment with full-time work; the elimination of partial subsidies (now all workers will receive full support, regardless of their day) and the creation of two new aids for returned migrants and victims of sexist violence.
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