Spain’s Labor Ministry Ends Negotiations on Workplace Safety Law After 20-Month Stalemate
Spain’s Ministry of Labor has officially ended negotiations to update the Law on Prevention of Occupational Risks following a 20-month impasse with employer representatives. The move signals a potential shift towards implementing changes via royal decree, bypassing the need for congressional approval.
The Ministry initiated the closure of talks after failing to secure support from business associations for the proposed reforms. Representatives from CCOO and UGT, major Spanish trade unions, had been urging the government since September to end the negotiations, citing a “blockade” from employer groups. “The Government is deeply disappointed,” admitted a senior official from the Ministry of Labor following a press conference, days after issuing an ultimatum to negotiators from CEOE and Cepyme.
The Ministry now intends to move forward with the latest proposal, working directly with unions to implement changes through a royal decree. This approach, which carries the weight of regulation rather than law, avoids the lengthy process of parliamentary approval. The team led by Yolanda Díaz aims to expedite these procedures before the end of the year, while still hoping to garner support from political parties for a broader renewal of the 30-year-old legislation.
Employer organizations swiftly issued a statement Wednesday criticizing the government’s decision to “walk away” from the negotiating table and “legislate solely with the unions.” They called for a return to “real and effective” social dialogue, rather than the imposition of measures agreed upon with worker representatives and threats to pursue reforms through regulation. The business groups also protested what they characterized as a false portrayal of their organizations as obstructing social dialogue.
A senior Ministry official countered that employer groups had characterized the proposed law as “bureaucratic” and insufficiently involving workers in risk prevention management. They also questioned the criticism that the reform overstepped its bounds by regulating digital disconnection, addressing climate change, and expanding preventative task allowances by 20%.
Patricia Ruiz, Secretary of Health and Labor at UGT, expressed frustration with the employers’ stance, attributing it to a political response following the announcement of Junts’ political position. “After the summer, there was a very clear blockade by the employer organizations. We will find a legal way to urgently update the regulations,” she stated after the final negotiation session. Mariano Sanz, Secretary of Health, Labor and Environmental Sustainability at CCOO, echoed this sentiment, stating, “We have demanded that the Government give us an alternative to move forward with the law or establish regulatory modifications via royal decrees sufficient to attempt to modify structural aspects of the law.”
The stalled negotiations centered on strengthening employer obligations regarding the prevention of risks associated with worker mental health, ensuring compliance with protective measures in smaller businesses, and addressing emerging threats linked to climate change, digital hyperconnectivity, and age or gender-specific risks. The discussions initially stemmed from the 2023-2027 Strategy for Safety and Health at Work, signed by all four social agents, with the initial expectation of a three-way agreement. However, employer groups cited a lack of concrete proposals as a key obstacle.
The Ministry of Labor will be able to approve certain changes independently, including reinforcing the integration of gender, age, and diversity perspectives into prevention plans. It also plans to lower the threshold for simplified prevention plans to companies with 30 or more employees, down from the current 50, according to reporting from elEconomista.es. Furthermore, the Ministry can incorporate new evaluation requirements, such as considering risks related to climate, digitalization, and telework.
However, other aspects of the reform, notably the inclusion of psychosocial risks, would require legislative approval. While this would reinforce existing laws already mandating risk assessments, unions argue that current compliance is inadequate.
In 2021, the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate issued technical guidance clarifying that companies are obligated to assess risks related to workload, working hours, communication within the company, employee participation in decision-making, and conflicts with colleagues. The guidance emphasized that these assessments must be based on technical criteria and not conducted “at first glance or intuitively,” but rather using quantitative techniques.
. A visual representation of the current compliance rates with existing risk assessment regulations would be beneficial.
The outcome of these negotiations underscores the challenges of achieving consensus on workplace safety reforms in Spain, and the government’s willingness to pursue unilateral action to address perceived shortcomings in worker protection.
