The agreement signed by the Ministry of Labor and the unions for the unemployment benefit reform puts an end to almost five months of negotiations to close a text with which to fulfill one of the commitments linked to the fourth payment of European funds. The document, to which the CEOE has also made contributions, expands the groups that can benefit from the non-contributory benefit and the amounts to be received, with one exception: the subsidy for those over 52 years of age, which will remain at 80% of the Indicad o Public Income Tax for Multiple Effects (IPREM), which in 2024 is equal to 480 euros per month or 6,720 euros per year.
CCOO and UGT continue to iron out some technical details with the Government, especially referring to the possibility of making the collection of the contributory benefit compatible with full-time employment, but this is one of the points that was concluded in the copy sent by the team. . by Yolanda Díaz late on Monday. The aid for those under 52 years of age would rise to 95% of the IPREM (570 euros) in the first six months and to 90% (540 euros) in the second half of the first year, something that was not extended to victims of violence. . gender or sexual and returned migrants, as denounced by the Secretary of Public Policies and Social Protection of CCOO, Carlos Bravo.
However, negotiation sources tell La Información that this point has been corrected and only 80% is maintained for those over 52 years of age, although they have a comparative advantage in terms of pensions. The Government has reversed its initial proposal – based on the royal decree-law negotiated with Nadia Calviño – and has decided to maintain the contribution of these unemployed at 125% of the minimum contribution base to count the vote of the four Podemos deputies in the Congress of Deputies. This reference is determined by the minimum wage, which is why in December the Executive justified that the intense increase experienced in recent years (54%) made this “patch” unnecessary.
100% of the minimum contribution base. This strategy entailed savings that the Ministry of Labor will now have to compensate or justify in the economic report that accompanies the new reform, which is expected to go forward as a royal decree-law. Also the possibility of making unemployment compatible with employment, which was not foreseen in the first draft, however, sources from Yolanda Díaz’s portfolio rule out that it will translate into a significant increase in spending.
In December, worker representatives expressed their disagreement with the change from 125% to 100% and have acted as mediators between the ‘purples’ and Yolanda Díaz’s team to be able to save this point. However, consider that the new design is not optimal either because it constitutes an insult to workers of the same age who have a job and receive the SMI since they are generating the right to a lower pension. The general secretary of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, made it clear at the signing of the agreement that his union considered it necessary to explore a formula that would serve as compensation and proposed raising the contribution base for workers over this age, which would generate an advantage . in front of young people.
The new conditions will apply to people who receive the subsidy once the reform is in force from the date established by the law when it is published in the BOE. The royal decree-law passed in January set this threshold in the month of June, however, it is expected that this margin will be modified in the new wording of the norm because the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) would not have time to adapt to the new conditions of the benefit and even by that date validation in Congress may not have occurred. However, the subsidy for people over 52 years of age will hardly change with the reform, since the amount will remain the same and this group could already make the aid compatible with a job in which the contract was longer than three months.
