The main unions in the Balearics - the CCOO and the UGT - are drawing attention to a perhaps unexpected consequence of Spain's labour reform.
Employment figures, especially those for the Balearics, have been showing an almost total turnaround in terms of temporary and permanent hiring. Whereas temporary contracts once represented some 80% of jobs, labour reform has swung this to 80% permanent. Of particular relevance to the Balearics is the 'fijo discontinuo' contract, a form of permanent employment whereby employees work for the season and claim benefit when they don't work but with the guarantee of being called back by their employers.
The unions suggest that what is happening is that employers are using the trial period for jobs as a means of disguising that they are in fact hiring on a temporary basis. This is said to especially be the case in the hospitality industry in the Balearics.
José García of the UGT says this is a "fraud" that should be prosecuted by law. Fijo discontinuo contracts are being ended after the trial period, meaning that employers don't have to pay any compensation and that employees find themselves out of work in the middle of the season. "And that makes it difficult for them to find something else."
Social Security data at the national level for 2019 show that there were 675,555 cases of employees not passing the probationary period. In a labour market affected by the pandemic, this figure fell in 2020 and 2021. But in 2022, it increased to 893,752. In the first two months of 2023, there was a 37% increase compared to the same period of 2022 - 127,546 in all.
Silvia Montejano of the CCOO suggests that abuse of the trial period is mainly by small to medium-sized businesses without union representation. She argues that it has a counterproductive effect. "In the end, these tricks to save costs are not the most appropriate for creating good working conditions and good customer service."
García expresses some surprise at the actions of employers, given a regular insistence that they have been struggling to find sufficient numbers of workers. Perhaps, but in a way it isn't surprising in the least. The abuse of the trial period has been happening for years and was particularly evident during the financial crisis.