Spanish trade unions against labour market reforms: strategic choices and outcomes

Loira, Pablo del Rio; Fenger, Menno

doi:10.1177/1024258918818267

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In particular, “ the announcement of the reform immediately triggered a reaction from the trade unions , which called demonstrations across Spain on 18 and 19 February . Attendance at the protests was very significant , which the trade unions described as a show of ‘massive support’ from the people , and they announced an escalation of the mobilisation if the government did not improve its offer ” [ 21 ]. These events, as well as the announcement of a general strike, occurred within the event window of the study and it can be argued that they would have an effect to investors, creating uncertainty in the market and contributing to potentially contradicting observations that led to the statistically insignificant result.…”

Section: Sample and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence that Spanish Labour Reform represents on Madrid Stock Market: An empirical analysis

2021

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Empirical evidence for Spanish Stock Market shows that labour events, like a firm level collective agreement, have informative content for the market due to the loss of wealth that it implies for the investor. Labour Reforms which Spain experienced between the years 2010 and 2012 have allowed the jeopardising of employment and the destruction of jobs, substituting one well paid by another of lower cost for the firm, the cost of dismissal, or the proposals of substituting payoffs by the so-called Austrian backpack, and the elimination of the distinction between temporary and permanent contracts. These Labour Reforms affect many of the accounting and financial variables, which are the subject of analysis and follow-up by investors and analysts, next to the idiosyncrasy of the Open Shop System that is followed in Spain, the present article means to explore the effect on Madrid Stock Market. Our results, applying analysis techniques with decision trees where we control the effect of the economic crisis on the market reaction, show that the Labour Reforms of 2010 to 2012 are incorporated as negative, or positive, information when the investor perceives a possible decrease, or increase, in its future cash flows.

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Section: Sample and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence that Spanish Labour Reform represents on Madrid Stock Market: An empirical analysis

2021

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“…The return to tripartite agreements took place after the 2012 labour reform (Perez et al, 2016;Rocha, 2018;Del Rio and Fenger, 2019). This reform prioritised firm-level agreements over sectorial and provincial agreements, thus changing their content (Muñoz de Bustillo and Pinto, 2018).…”

Section: The Characteristics Of Labour Market Liberalisation In Spainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Labour policy in the face of the COVID-19 socio-economic crisis in Spain: institutional change and social pacts

Rey

Villanueva²

2022

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PurposeThis study aims to analyse the institutional changes in the Spanish labour market in the light of the measures introduced to support workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Applying the theoretical framework the authors’ hypothesis is that the labour policy response to the crisis provoked by COVID-19 in Spain has ranged from strategy of preservation of the social democratic coalition to the anti-bourgeois bloc coalition with a greater presence of social pacts and the support of the social partners.Design/methodology/approachCombining the institutional theory of liberalisation trajectories, the four ideal-typical reform strategies and the social pacts literature, the authors analyse the change in the labour market policy orientation during the COVID-19 economic crisis in Spain.FindingsIn comparison to the Great Recession labour policy response, short-time work schemes and new benefits have characterised the 2020 labour policy strategy. Then, the labour policy response has oscillated between, on the one hand, a strategy of preservation of the social democratic coalition, which is characterised by measures to protect workers on the margins of the labour market without affecting the discretionary power of employers. On the other hand, a strategy of the anti-bourgeois bloc coalition, reflected in the employment safeguard clause that attempts to limit both external numerical flexibility and the increase in unemployment. Finally, the authors have analysed whether the labour policies after the COVID-19 crisis constitute a new round of social pacts in Spain and how this took place. They conclude that the main measures approved in the area of employment protection have been supported by social pacts and the social partners (trade unions and employers), as reflected in the signing of the Social Agreement in Defence of Employment (ASDE).Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a significant contribution as it is the first article to point out that the labour policy represents a change in the trajectory of liberalisation, limiting the discretionary power of employers and re-regulating the labour market. The main measure of (re)regulation has been to safeguard employment and to avoid objective or unfair dismissals, which is the traditional form of adjustment. In other words, internal numerical flexibility has been promoted over external flexibility, thus significantly modifying the orientation of labour policy. Finally, the authors have found that social pacts have allowed for greater institutional coherence between legal changes and the behaviour of employers and workers.

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“…The Spanish turn to internal adjustment was politically arduous and came about under immense domestic opposition from both loosely coordinated voters and trade unions. Both took action against unpopular spending cuts, tax increases, and structural reform (Anduiza et al 2014;del Rio Loira and Fenger 2019). During the tenure of the PP, Spain embarked upon significant fiscal consolidation based on cuts in public wages and regional state budgets, as well as hikes to VAT rates, significant regulation of labor markets and targeted privatization efforts (MacInnes and Pinedo 2011; Royo and Steinberg 2019).…”

Section: Spain In Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of Bad Options

Walter

Ray

Redeker

2020

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Why did the Eurozone crisis prove to be so difficult to resolve? Why was it resolved in a manner in which some countries bore a much larger share of the pain than other countries? Why did no country leave the Eurozone rather than implement unprecedented austerity? Who supported and who opposed the different policy options in the crisis domestically, and how did the distributive struggles among these groups shape crisis politics? Building on macro-level statistical data, original survey data from interest groups, and qualitative comparative case studies, this book argues and shows that the answers to these questions revolve around distributive struggles about how the costs of the Eurozone crisis should be divided among countries, and among different socioeconomic groups within countries. Together with divergent but strongly held ideas about the “right way” to conduct economic policy and asymmetries in the distribution of power among actors, severe distributive concerns of important actors lie at the root of the difficulties of resolving the Eurozone crisis as well as the difficulties to substantially reform European Monetary Union (EMU). The book provides new insights into the politics of the Eurozone crisis by emphasizing three perspectives that have received scant attention in existing research: A comparative perspective on the Eurozone crisis by systematically comparing it to previous financial crises, an analysis of the whole range of policy options, including the ones not chosen, and a unified framework that examines crisis politics not just in deficit-debtor, but also in surplus-creditor countries.

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Spanish trade unions against labour market reforms: strategic choices and outcomes

Cited by 4 publications

References 38 publications

The influence that Spanish Labour Reform represents on Madrid Stock Market: An empirical analysis

The influence that Spanish Labour Reform represents on Madrid Stock Market: An empirical analysis

Labour policy in the face of the COVID-19 socio-economic crisis in Spain: institutional change and social pacts

The Politics of Bad Options

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