Labour Market Reform to be approved thanks to the abstention of the People?s Party and Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Party

Madrid (CNA).- The Spanish Government will see its labour market reform blessed by the Spanish Parliament. The reform is a demand from a large part of the Spanish society as well as its international markets. Zapatero’s reform has been approved without the support from trade unions and with criticism from business associations for being too soft. Now, in the Parliament, the People’s Party chooses to do the same as the Catalan Group and abstain from voting.
Only the Socialist MPs will vote “yes” to Zapatero’s reform, adopted without the social agents’ agreement and without having it agreed with other parties. The spokesperson of the People’s Party (PP), Soraya Saéz de Santamaría, and that of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Party (CiU), Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, have officially announced this morning the outcome of their group’s vote. Abstention. In addition, they have explained that they will also vote to have the “executive law” (approved directly by the Government) transformed into a “proposed bill”, which can be modified by the Parliament. They have unveiled their intentions to include modifications to the initial project, a procedure which could last months but that it will not stop the reform from entering into force.

Besides, the Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) and the Catalan Eco-Socialist Party (ICV) have announced that they will vote against the reform as it facilitates firing workers, they say. The former Communists Coalition (IU), will also vote against the reform.