The UGT ratified before the European Committee of Social Rights its collective complaint against the government for non-compliance with the European Social Charter with regard to overtime pay in Spain and refuted in a new document the observations of the executive of Pedro Sánchez to his complaint in Strasbourg. In particular, they consider that the government has not responded effectively to the request for an increase in overtime that was submitted to the bipartisan negotiating table between employers and unions to reduce the working day, as it had advanced. elEconomista.es.
In this document, the union led by Pepe Álvarez states that, in its observations, the government mentioned the negotiation of the reduction of working hours in the social dialogue, but “silenced” the fact that the employers’ association CEOE asked in exchange for increased overtime. to accept the gradual reduction of working hours. “Although it was rejected by the union, it shows that in Spain, Regulations and practices encourage overtime due to its low cost and lack of control.“, underlines the union.
At the beginning of this year, the UGT filed a class action against the Spanish government, admitted by the European Committee of Social Rights (CEDS) on May 14, for non-compliance with the international commitments that Spain has entered into, in particular those established by the Social Charter of the European Union, regarding remuneration for overtime and control of working time.
The European Social Charter, which is mandatory, requires workers to receive an increase in pay for each overtime hour worked, which UGT says is not guaranteed in current Spanish labor law. This is why he asked the CEDS to force the Spanish government to modify its legislation to comply with these international obligations, guaranteeing minimum protection to all workers, regardless of the collective agreements to which they are subject.
Specifically, The union demands that overtime be paid at least 25% more than a regular hourand that the safeguards for the recording of the working day be increased so that they indicate the actual hours actually worked, whether ordinary or extraordinary.
On July 18, the Spanish government presented its observations to the CEDS regarding the UGT’s complaint, asking the body to reject it and to confirm that the Spanish regulations on overtime and their control are adapted to the provisions of the Charter European social security.
The union was invited by the CEDS to respond to the government’s observations, in accordance with the organization’s statutes, and it is in this response letter that the UGT ratifies its complaint, accusing the government of “silence” what the CEOE requested in the table of reduction of working days. (extend overtime in Spain) and proposes new legal reasons to confirm that Spain does not respect the European Social Charter regarding pay and control overtime.
In its response to the government’s observations, the UGT underlines that in the midst of discussion on the reduction of the working day, overtime worked has reached “a maximum of 15 years” in Spain. Thus, it affirms that, according to the Labor Force Survey (EPA) of the second quarter, in Spain, almost seven million overtime hours were worked during this period, 16% more than in 2023, and that more than a million workers worked overtime. already too long.
The union denounces the “contradictions” of the Spanish executive in its response to the claim, since, on the one hand, it recognizes the deficiencies of the system and admits that a considerable proportion of workers do not receive adequate compensation for the hours additional, but, instead of taking immediate measures to correct these deficiencies, “is sheltered by the promise of future legislative reforms, which have not yet materialized, which prolongs the non-compliance with its international obligations”.
They consider the government’s position “unacceptable”
The UGT criticizes this position of the government, because “it does not respond effectively to the current situation and limits itself to promising long-term solutions”. Furthermore, he argues that the measures proposed by the government, such as the possible reform of the paper time recording system and its digitization guaranteeing greater control on the part of the Labor Inspectorate, although positive, “will not be sufficient on their own if they are not accompanied by a substantial improvement in the regulation of overtime and their remuneration “.
“It is unacceptable that the government has confidence in future reforms and does not act immediately to respect international commitments and guarantee labor rights,” underlines the UGT.
The union recalls that, in its observations, the government recognized that 40% of collective agreements do not contain clauses that increase remuneration by the amount of salary for overtime and warns that 60% of agreements that increase the amount of salary, they only protect 55% of workers. This situation is “particularly worrying” from a gender perspective, since, according to the UGT, women are more affected than men by the lack of adequate remuneration, which worsens the gender pay gap.
Likewise, the UGT emphasizes that the Spanish government “has no shame in justifying this lack of national legislative recognition of the European social right to increased remuneration for overtime by a labor reform, carried out unilaterally in 1994, without social dialogue and against the unions. ‘ position, justified solely by the desire to make working time management more flexible and less costly”.
Before this reform, Spanish law, in accordance with international social legislation, established a minimum increase or bonus of 75% per overtime hour, without prejudice to the possibility of a greater increase through collective agreements.
“The Spanish government recognizes in its response that with this reform there has been an increase in the use of overtime, although it tries to minimize this fact, justifying it by the fact that rather than an extension of the working day of work, it was rather an incentive for the irregular distribution of working time”, explains the UGT.
The union document highlights the importance of time recording as an essential mechanism to control hours worked in Spain, particularly with regard to overtime. Although in theory, The time record must guarantee correct accounting of working hours to avoid abusethe UGT claims that its implementation in practice has been “ineffective”.
“Despite current regulations, there is a lack of effective monitoring, which has generated a situation where a considerable volume of overtime worked is not adequately recorded or remunerated. This failure of the control system allows companies to continue to exploit the workforce with overtime that is not duly remunerated,” he points out.
Of the more than six million overtime hours worked in Spain, half are unpaid, “which represents an annual figure of 3,250 million euros in wages stolen from workers“, in the absence of social security contributions and no loss to the public treasury”, asserts the union.
