Zapatero presents the Sustainable Economy Law to Congress

Zapatero presents the Sustainable Economy Law to Congress
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By h.b. - Dec 3, 2009 - 7:49 AM
The opposition have complained about a lack of content

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Congress on Wednesday - EFE

Presenting the new Sustainable Economy Law to Congress on Wednesday, the Spanish Prime Minister announced plans to reform the labour market and pensions.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero once again ruled out making sackings cheaper in Spain, but said that there would be changes in work contracts and more flexibility as part of the ongoing talks involving the employers’ organisations and the unions.

Quoting a phrase used by the PP leader Mariano Rajoy, Zapatero insisted that the Government was not a mere spectator to the talks on the wage round. He said that they would be using a shorter working week as a way of adjusting employment levels, often referred to here as the German model, and that there would be a general revision of the bonuses available to employers who take on new workers.

New measures against fiscal fraud and the submerged economy were also announced, as well as a reform of operating regulations for caja savings banks.
He said the new law would affect all areas of the economy, as they can all contribute to the recovery of the economy and the creation of employment, insisting that the end of the recession was close, and that the economy would see growth this quarter or the first next year.

Regarding pensions he said he would be making a new proposal to the Toledo Pensions Commission in the next few weeks, which would, he said, ensure their stability by ‘a strict link between contributions and payments’.

The Prime Minister surprised the chamber by saying that he was prepared to ‘modify the position’ on nuclear policy, but he did repeat that he did not want to see any new nuclear plants in Spain.

All the opposition groups criticised the proposals for a lack of content with the PP leader Mariano Rajoy describing it as ‘a luminous sign on an empty plot’.

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