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*Resolution of the Directorate-General for Labour, 1 August 2007.
On 1 August, the General Agreement for the Construction Sector (CGSC) was published. It was signed by the National Construction Confederation and the trade unions FECOMA-CCOO and MCA-UGT, and will remain in force until 2011.
This agreement highlights the importance and need to establish a uniform regulatory framework at national level that coordinates certain fundamental aspects of the sector, which had traditionally been governed independently by provincial collective agreements.
The aim is to ensure a degree of cohesion that provides greater legal certainty, reduces risk factors, and promotes a worker training system valid across the whole of Spain. The CGSC sets out which powers fall within each level of jurisdiction, with national provisions applying directly throughout the entire territory.
The following matters are established as national-level subjects: hiring and contracting, subrogation, general conditions, probationary periods, professional classification, general principles governing the organisation and performance of work, geographical and functional mobility, vocational training, promotions, annual working hours and rest periods, annual leave, leave and permits, employee representative bodies within the company, suspension and termination of the employment relationship, disciplinary offences and sanctions, leave of absence, overtime, health and safety at work, productivity agreements, and the concepts and structure of remuneration (both salary and non-salary components).
At provincial level, negotiations will cover the obligational content of collective agreements, the quantitative determination of non-quantified remuneration items (whose categories will be defined at national level), provincial and local calendars specifying the distribution of effective working hours, productivity agreements and performance benchmarks for application at provincial level, and any other matters expressly referred to provincial agreements that are not regulated by a higher-level agreement.
WORKER TRAINING
Given that the construction sector employs a large number of migrant workers, any training provided to them must be tailored to their needs, particularly where they do not speak Spanish.
One of the key innovations introduced is the 'Construction Professional Card' (Tarjeta Profesional de la Construcción – TPC). This is a nationally recognised card, valid throughout Spain, which certifies the specific Health and Safety training received by workers in the construction sector. It must be issued by the Fundación Laboral de la Construcción (the Construction Labour Foundation).
The Construction Professional Card certifies:
· The Health and Safety training received by the cardholder.
· The employee's professional category and their experience in the sector.
· The cardholder's compliance with the medical examinations required under the Collective Agreement.
HIRING
Employment contracts, which may take any of the currently available forms, must be linked to a specific post. That is, the contract must set out the duties and tasks to be performed, the applicable professional category, and the workplace where the work will be carried out. Any change to any of these terms will constitute a change of post.
The characteristics of the different types of contracts in the construction sector are set out below:
A permanent staff contract is one signed by the employee and the employer under which the employee provides services to the company on an indefinite basis. This type of contract must be used when the workplace has a permanent nature for the duration of the contract.
A permanent site contract is generally concluded for the completion of a single, specific project or works, regardless of its duration, and comes to an end when the tasks corresponding to the employee's trade and professional category on that site are complete.
This type of contract allows the employee to provide services to the same company at different workplaces, without losing their status as a permanent site employee, for a maximum period of three years, provided that a separate agreement is reached for each successive workplace. This contract type carries a termination payment of 7%, calculated on the salary components set out in the collective agreement's pay scales.
For fixed-term contracts, whether based on production circumstances or as cover for an absent employee, once the agreed period expires, the employee is entitled to receive a non-salary termination payment of 7%, calculated on the salary components set out in the collective agreement's pay scales.
The maximum duration of fixed-term contracts is twelve months within an eighteen-month period, calculated from the moment the circumstances justifying the engagement arise, that is, from when there is an increase in workload or when it becomes necessary to bring on additional staff for a specific task.
A training contract may not last less than six months or more than three years, and any renewals, provided they do not exceed the maximum, must be for a minimum of six months. Under these contracts, the employer is required to designate a person to act as mentor to the employee in training.
CONCEPT AND STRUCTURE OF REMUNERATION COMPONENTS
Salary-based remuneration:
a) Base salary: The portion of remuneration determined solely by reference to time worked at the normal and expected level of performance, as defined by the applicable agreement.
b) Salary supplements:
· Personal supplements, such as consolidated seniority pay or disability supplements.
· Job-related supplements, such as payments for night work, exposure to toxic substances, hardship, or hazardous conditions.
· Performance or productivity supplements, such as bonuses, incentives, activity allowances, or overtime.
· extra payments and holiday pay.
· Supplements paid voluntarily or at the discretion of the company.
Non-salary remuneration:
c) Social Security benefits and compensation and related supplements.
d) Expense reimbursements for costs incurred by the employee in the course of their work, such as tools and work clothing, per diems, and travel expenses.
Salary supplements that are functional or circumstantial in nature (such as job-related supplements, performance or productivity supplements, supplements for work well done, or those paid voluntarily to employees) are considered non-consolidated elements of the employee's salary and are not included in the remuneration base.
To achieve a degree of uniformity across the sector, minimum proportions have been established (relative to the annual total) that must be observed by pay scales agreed under collective bargaining agreements at a level below the national framework:
· The combined total of base salary and discretionary bonus payments must fall between 65% and 75% of the annual total of the agreement's pay scales for each category or grade.
· The combined total of non-salary allowances must fall between 5% and 7% of the annual total of the agreement's pay scales for each category or grade.
· The combined total of the remaining supplements must account for the percentage resulting from applying the above criteria to the annual total of the pay scales for each category or remuneration grade.
Contracts entered into prior to the publication of this agreement must adjust their end-of-contract compensation amounts to those set out in the new agreement, with effect from the date it enters into force.
Provincial agreements must align their pay scales with the minimum annual gross remuneration set out in the Agreement, details of which can be found on the website www.bufeteconesa.com.
PAY INCREASES
During the period from 2007 to 2011, provincial agreements will apply a 1.5% salary increase above the CPI forecast set out in the Spanish General State Budget for each of those years. This percentage applies to base salary, discretionary bonus payments, holiday pay, and both salary and non-salary supplements.
Should the CPI in any given year during the term of the Agreement exceed the General State Budget forecast, an economic review will be carried out to address the corresponding shortfall.
Provincial agreements will need to progressively align with the minimum annual gross remuneration established by the national agreement between now and 2011. To this end, it is recommended that provincial agreements increase remuneration in five equal annual increments over the life of this Agreement, so as to reach the target minimum gross figure.
PROHIBITION ON PRORATION AND PROPORTIONALITY IN THE ACCRUAL OF extra payments
Agreements based on an all-inclusive global salary are prohibited. Under new contracts, extra payments and end-of-contract compensation may not be spread across regular pay instalments. This prohibition does not apply to the extra payments of employees who, by reason of their length of service, are not entitled to receive the full amount.
COMPENSATION PAYMENTS
The compensation amounts applicable to all employees covered by this collective bargaining agreement have been established as follows:
a) In the event of death resulting from a common illness or non-work-related accident: an amount equivalent to one month's total remuneration under all pay headings in the applicable scale at the relevant time.
b) In the event of death, absolute permanent disability (IPA), or severe disability arising from a work-related accident or occupational illness:
| 2007 | €43,000 |
| 2008 | €44,000 |
| 2009 | €45,000 |
| 2010 | €46,000 |
| 2011 | €47,000 |
c) In the event of total permanent disability (IPT) arising from a work-related accident or occupational illness:
| 2007 | €25,000 |
| 2008 | €25,000 |
| 2009 | €26,000 |
| 2010 | €27,000 |
| 2011 | €28,000 |
These compensation amounts become binding thirty days after the publication of the Agreement. Accordingly, insurance policies must be updated to reflect the new figures.
