One of the country’s largest unions, Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), publicly denounces the collapse of a key tool for granting benefits to the unemployed. The reaction of the Ministry of Labor denies that there was such a blocking of the IT department during conversations with elEconomista.es. The controversy is servedbut the government strives to clarify that the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) responded “with foresight, rigor and professionalism” at the start of requests for new unemployment benefits. Everyone plays their turns.
The SEPE has integrated the new IT tool, ALMA, in which the Government has invested 30 million euros. It is used to process and manage benefits and was implemented on November 4, coinciding with the entry into force of unemployment benefits.
The union says the flood of requests has caused technical problems, a situation that would worsen the pool of requests that have yet to be resolved. The government ensures that the computer program “self-audits” computer incidents via AGORA.
Each side has its arguments and plays its tricks. In a period of emergency due to the numerous ERTE requests that must be processed daily due to the impact of DANA in the Mediterranean and more particularly in Valencia, the Ministry of Labor has strived to guarantee the security of the SEPE with a message of calm to ensure that this aid reaches businesses and workers.
“During these first days of working with ALMA, We have recorded 8,029 grant applications already in the pre-recognition phase.. These requests will be able to move to the resolution phase when the resolution confirmation functionality is activated before next Friday”, they say. In this phase, no additional procedures or personnel are required and payment will be made at the end of the month. .
Model issues
The central office is pushing to strengthen the SEPE staff as well as the training that civil servants receive. They assure that “in more than 30% of cases, benefits are not paid within the month following their request” and that nearly 15% of care units “are closed for lack of staff capable of taking care of them “. “The SEPE manages millions of pay slips, it’s not a problem,” the ministry says.
The government insists that the implementation of the new ALMA IT service “has had no impact and that the rate of recognition of services is maintained compared to previous weeks and months”. They are aware that the decision of CCOO, which published up to two notes in the media speaking of a “collapse” and “serious technical problems”, is intended to serve as pressure method to meet your demands.
For the CCOO union, the staff deficit at the SEPE is “enormous”, since on September 30 it only had 7,508 workers, with a constant staff loss rate of 10% less each year. They predict the workforce will consist of fewer than 7,000 workers by the end of 2024 and They estimate that 12,500 men are needed “to be able to operate in a minimally satisfactory manner.”.
“The technical and human problems seriously endanger the viability of this fundamental public service due to the incompetence of the General Directorate and the Ministry of Labor itself, which leads us to a conflict, which CCOO has tried to prevent. Avoid so as not to aggravate the situation. situation in the organization,” says the union. Eventually, They ensure the labor conflict “in the face of the certain risk of collapse of the SEPE due to the mismanagement of those responsible”.
