Harsh Critisism of Spain's Employment Record

 

A report undertaken by the Committee for Social Rights in Brussels has critised Spain's 'culture of employment'. The authors claim that a salary of 629 euros per month for full time employment 'does not allow individuals to lead a dignified lifestyle' and also claim that the poor minimum wage is against the EU directive covering social rights, which clearly states that workers must be paid enough to be able to survive.

The directibe also points out that employees cannot work more than 48 hours per week, whereas current employment laws in Spain allow employers to make their staff work more than 60 hours a week – or around 12 hours a day.

EU Employment law is ignored once again in the case of annual leave, as many companies do not allow employees to recover lost days of holiday if they suffer illnesses or accidents during these periods.

Additionally, the report claims that regulations covering notice of extinction of contracts of employmenyt also flout of EU standards. In many cases contracts of less than one year can be terminated without notice and those of a year or more, with just 15 days' notice.

The report concludes that the situation has not changed since 2007.