In the month of June, the construction sector appeared with the announcement of an agreement reached with the unions to develop the first large collective pension plan in Spain, sheltered from the new regulations promoted by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and migrations Sources from the National Construction Confederation (CNC) that the last fringes are being closed and that the employment plan will see the light of day in less than a month. A process that is closely followed by Chemicals and Metal -among other sectors- with 200,000 and 1.5 million workers respectively, to launch their own pension plans based on the Construction experience. As transferred by the employer’s sources to La Información.
The Government concluded at the end of June the regulation law for the promotion of employment pension plans. This standard includes financial instruments to compensate public pensions and introduces tax benefits such as reductions in Personal Income Tax or Corporate Tax. In addition, it modifies the contribution and contribution limits by companies to pension plans. Specifically, Law 12/2022 creates “simplified employment plans” which, among its typologies, includes those “promoted by companies included in sectoral collective agreements that implement pension commitments in favor of their workers, with special attention to promote its implementation in small and medium-sized companies”, in which these sectors are inserted.
The construction employers were the first to “jump into the pool” and began an arduous process of collective bargaining in search of a consensus with the unions. This movement aroused doubts in other branches integrated into the CEOE, according to sources from the CNC, but now that the project incorporates its latest details, it has generated high expectations in neighboring sectors. During these months, Construction has progressed cautiously, with the advice of external experts and professors and carrying out an investigation of already existing models that can be taken as a base. On the other hand, other sectors such as Metal or Chemicals are waiting for this volume to take shape to take it as a reference and take advantage of the intense work carried out.
Attract young talent with pension plans
The members of the employer also see in these plans an opportunity to gain attractiveness in the labor market, given the difficulties they face in meeting their labor demands. The construction sector calculated that to execute the projects financed with the funds This Friday, the president of the CNC, Pedro Fernández Alén, recognized that they have a problem attracting young people, migrants and women, for which they were considering developing plans specific to them. At the end of 2022, the latter only represented 11% of the workforce, which shows that the sector is still strongly masculinized.
“We have not made the sector attractive,” admitted Fernández Alén, who pointed out that “whoever enters, does not leave” because they enjoy good salaries and hours. Currently, the average salary in this sector is 30% above the Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI), however, the latest increase has aroused demands for salary improvements, so these companies have also been indirectly affected by a rise that has not had the support of the employers. Construction and real estate companies are especially concerned about the difficulty of adding young employees to their ranks, firstly because they are not attracted to these positions and secondly because they lack the training that is required today.
Employer sources point out that in the face of these problems, they believe it is necessary to explore new ways beyond salary improvements -which are the traditional demand in collective bargaining-, so they see pension plans as an opportunity to incorporate new advantages over to other professionals. Although this problem is not exclusive to Construction. The latest calculations made by Confemetal, the metal employers, need to incorporate 150,000 workers to cover the demand of their sector, from soldiers to specialists in 3D technologies and robotics. Therefore, they are currently designing a specific training plan together with the CCOO and UGT.
In the report ‘Study on the needs for professional skills and metal learning in Spain’, Confemetal also includes “some disaffection” on the part of young people with respect to carrying out their only professional career in the sector, which translates into a lack of employees but of potential students. For this reason, the employer seeks to bet on a “flexible” training offer that includes short courses with specific objectives and that respond to current market needs. In addition, the representatives of the metallurgical companies are committed to improving the conditions of the students in practices and promoting dual contracting.
