The Spanish government decided on Friday to ban all dismissals during the new coronavirus pandemic, while unions estimate the number of workers temporarily unemployed at around one million.
"The Covid-19 cannot be used to fire […] from today," Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz, a member of the radical left-wing party Podemos, who governs, told a press conference. in coalition with the socialists of Pedro Sanchez.
Possible suspension for temporary contracts
The government has put in place "the impossibility of implementing layoffs due to force majeure," she said. Companies will also not be able to terminate temporary contracts, which may be suspended, but will have to resume upon return to normal.
"There is no need to fire anyone in this country, this crisis is a parenthesis," she insisted. The minister recalled that the government had put in place “hyper-simplified” procedures for short-time working “in order not to lay off anyone”.
A measure called for by the two main unions
The ban on layoffs was demanded by the two main unions, Workers Commissions and UGT, who estimate that around one million people could be put on short-time working in March.
The government declared on March 14 a state of alert and the confinement of all Spaniards at their home, a measure extended until April 11, while Spain is the country of the world which counts the most deaths after l 'Italy, with 4,858 deaths according to the last assessment and more than 64,000 cases identified.