El blog de Maria

Keith said:
Friday, February 10, 2012 @ 11:05 PM

Spain's government will lower the country's high dismissal cost as part of a high-stakes overhaul of rigid labor laws meant to lower its towering unemployment rate.

"The reform will provide the framework to allow the creation of stable employment as soon as possible," Labor Minister Fatima Banez told journalists after the government's weekly cabinet meeting.

The government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy approved legislation that will lower the cost of an unfair dismissal associated with an open-ended contract to 33 days per year worked from 45. It will also make it easier for companies to justify a fair dismissal with a cost of 20 days.

It is the latest of a series of reforms Rajoy's government has approved since it came to power in December to shore up confidence in one of the euro zone's largest ailing economies.

Spain had an unemployment rate of 22.85% at the end of last year, by far the highest of the European Union.

Mike In Spain said:
Sunday, February 12, 2012 @ 1:32 AM

6. FIGHTING FRAUD IN UNEMPLOYMENT

This is what will be the nail in the coffin and push unemployment even higher, not help it. The Spanish government need to understand that one of the main reasons this problem exists is because it is so expensive to employ people in Spain. I cannot see any of the changed prescribed doing anything to help the situation, the problem is 'grave' and sticking some little plasters onto it will do nothing except help spread the germs.

1) Social security needs to be brought into perspective, it is too expensive to employ someone and declare their full wage... that is why companies do not do it.

2) Flexable employment hours with a PAYE type system, there are many companies that just employ people when they need them, even the situation exists where it might be only for one day but the Spanish system has no simple solution for this so companies just give people money in their hand. This was not a problem before as a blind eye was turned on it but now if the government clamps down on this and enforce the laws as a strict basis they say they will will only shut businesses down putting more on the dole... if that is what it is called when a self employed person who can't draw anything will do!

3) Countries need to have a system that turns a blind eye to employing people on a small scale basis, there are many small companies in every country that NEED to do this or they will not survive, yes some go over the top on this but it is not the small company that is the problem while it is the larger companies that are. The money that people earn this was such as from small companies actually helps oil the cogs as the people that earn money this way generally tend to put it back into the system... it general does not go into a savings or a stash but straight back into people pockets, tackling this issue will stop a lot of this and the result will be to close many small businesses, stop many others from opening up, create even less spending and so putting others out of work..... and the trail goes on.

The Spanish government desparately need to get some advice on how to run a modern country, it really feels like they still are thinking from 20 years ago in a modern Spain, I do get the feeling that Spanish politicians have absolutely no idea about how to run a country or its different sections and appear totally out of touch with fairly much everything. The amount of corruption has and is totally out of control, the judicial system is slow and from what I can see can be blatantly racial in its process, having several local governments is costly and very obviously promotes corruption to sickening levels, people in power just decide what a law means and you either like it or lump it because if you don't like it they know you can''t do much about it... the whole country is now in a total mess.

The one other thing that the Spanish politicians, councillors don't seem to understand is that media networks today are very powerful things, the seemingly lack of understanding this by these people in power is very very worrying as there lack of understanding of the fact that their problems, the apparent lack of attempting to create a structured and positive solution to those problems along with things like a backward judicial system and corruption are now shown in an open window to the public from all over the world, this is not good when most of your countries economy is based on money coming from foreign investment through property, tourism and foreign business .

I have lived here a long time and love this country but I am now very scared at the Spanish political bodies apparent total lack of understanding of their problems along with the apparent lack of taking a positive direction of sorting out their problems. In any other European country the business elite along with lawers and business people would be telling their politicians where to start here but maybe these people in Spain don't understand either... or many are just selfishly hanging onto their part of the gravey train taking what they can while they can.

I just wish politians would get their act together and take the bull by the horns 'no pun intended'

Greg said:
Sunday, February 12, 2012 @ 4:21 PM

Labour compensation.
It is all very well putting the proposal forward but when will it become law? So many time before proposals have been put forward but somewhere never seem to be implemented. I remember the reduction in IVA proposed for certain types of work, this never seemed to happen.