New collective agreement for business and consultancy firms

In November 2006, after two years without an agreement, the social partners signed the fifteenth sectoral agreement for consultancy companies involved in planning, business administration and accounting, information technology services, market research and opinion polls, for the period 2005–2006.

On 28 November 2006, the social partners signed a collective agreement covering consultancy companies involved in planning, business administration and accounting, information technology (IT) services, market research and opinion polls. The agreement was signed by the Administrative and Financial Service Federation affiliated to the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Federación de Servicios Financieros y Administrativos, COMFIA-CCOO) and the Service Federation of the General Workers’ Confederation (Federación de servicios de UGT, FES-UGT), representing the workers. On the employers’ side, the agreement was signed by the Spanish Association of Consultancy Firms (Asociación Española de Empresas de Consultoría, AEC) – acting in their own name and representing the Catalan Association of Consultancy Firms (ACEC) – and the National Association of Market Research Companies (Asociación Nacional de Empresas de Estudios de Mercado y Opinión Pública, ANEIMO).

Bargaining context

The agreement covers a diverse range of activities that are not covered by separate collective agreements – a long-standing goal of employer and trade union organisations that has not yet been fulfilled. This explains why the professional categories defined in the text are so diverse. Sometimes, the level of cover can be limited by the unique characteristics of some professions, such as those included theoretically under this regulation. Thus, the integration of some IT professionals in the labour market is based on other agreements, such as those pertaining to retail, offices or even metalworking – categories under which workers whose situation is not clear are sometimes placed under.

Due to the lack of agreement between the social partners, and after a long period of dispute, the trade unions decided to limit themselves to pay bargaining issues only and to address other issues during the course of 2007. They consider that the agreement represents a lesser evil but that further action will need to be taken in the medium term.

Pay provisions

In relation to pay, the pay scale tariffs (tariffs listing all pay levels and pay components in the area covered by the agreement) of the previous agreement have been adjusted in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) of 2005 (3.7%) and with the RPI target for 2006 (2%). If the real RPI of 2006 exceeds 2%, these tables will be revised. The pay increases will be backdated for all those whose pay has been below the levels laid down in the tariffs. The compensation and absorption clause inherited from the previous agreement states that these updates will only affect those whose current pay coincides with the tariffs. Workers who have another type of supplement outside of the agreement will not receive an actual pay rise; instead, the supplement will be reduced in order to absorb the pay rise.

Outstanding issues

The social partners were unable to reach agreement on the issues of working hours, working time, training, professional development and work-life balance. Although the trade unions have called for a reduction in annual working time – finally set at 1,790 hours a year compared with the previous 1,826 hours – and recognise that progress has been made in this area, they claim that employer organisations want to organise working time to suit customers’ needs. The unions believe that this would open the door to even greater flexibility regarding working time arrangements, or in their words the ‘flexibilisation of flexibility’. Such a process, they argue, could put an end to achievements in other areas such as those in relation to work–life balance.

Agreement was reached on issues such as the reduction of working time for breastfeeding (one hour per day or up to 15 annual working days), and the care of children under six years of age or of dependent relatives. However, other measures that seemed to have been agreed months earlier, such as not assigning women to projects that involve being away from home overnight in the last three months of pregnancy or during the first two years of their children’s lives, were not included in the final text. Furthermore, the trade unions are critical of the fact that progress on working time will be offset by the loss of fundamental rights such as those relating to seniority. The social partners are currently divided on such issues, which will not be addressed again until negotiations are resumed by the Bargaining Commission in March 2007.

Mari Luz Castellanos Ortega, CIREM Foundation