Díaz proposes expanding unemployment benefits to those under 45 years of age and accuses Calviño of wanting to cut the aid

The Ministry of Labor has revealed this Wednesday the main lines of its plan to reform the unemployment benefit system, the aid received by the unemployed who have already exhausted their contributory benefit.. The department headed by Yolanda Díaz proposes expanding the coverage of aid to those under 45 years of age who do not have family responsibilities, simplifying access or eliminating the waiting period of one month to collect it, according to Labor sources.. From the second vice presidency, they insist that the proposal goes “in the opposite direction to those who propose cuts”, a dart directed at the Ministry of Economy led by the first vice president, Nadia Calviño.

Furthermore, Díaz's proposal also seeks to make it easier to make aid compatible with incorporation into the labor market during the first month and for file reviews to be quarterly, according to the aforementioned sources.. The Ministry of Labor is finalizing the draft of the reform, which it hopes to bring to the Council of Ministers “as soon as possible.”

The reform has become a new reason for dispute between the two economic souls of the Government. The second vice president has surreptitiously accused Calviño of wanting to cut benefits and has claimed the competence of her ministry in this matter.. “We have learned about the Economy proposal and we show our absolute disagreement,” Díaz said this Wednesday before journalists gathered in the Congress courtyard. “I guarantee that we are not going to promote any cuts,” he added.

The second vice president has defended that this is a reform that aims to “gain rights”, expand subsidies and eliminate bureaucratic aspects to improve the quality of provision.. “The Government is not going to cut the unemployment benefit: it is going to improve and modernize it, working people can rest assured,” he concluded.

Discrepancies with Economy

The legislature has begun with swords raised between Calviño and Díaz, who already left notable clashes during the previous Government in matters such as labor reform or the increase in the minimum wage, where the initiative is taken by Labor.

The Ministry of Economy has not openly presented a specific proposal, but some information known in recent weeks suggested that Calviño's department wants to move towards a decreasing subsidy model – higher at the beginning, but which would be reduced as time passes. months-.

Economy sources consulted by 20minutos indicate that the ministry “is aligned” with the proposal that Labor has advanced this Wednesday. “Ultimately, what we want and share is that the entire system is aimed at supporting employment,” they point out.. Calviño's ministry adds that the two parties continue to exchange documents and work at a technical level to close the reform as soon as possible.

Last Monday, the Secretary of State for the Economy, Gonzalo García, gave some more insight into the position of the first vice presidency.. At an informative breakfast, García pointed out that the reform should focus on promoting compliance with the activity agreements made by the unemployed with the Public Employment Services.. These activity agreements are the pact that the unemployed person reaches with the administration in which he or she undertakes to actively look for work and accept offers that suit their profile.

García claimed that there must be “reciprocity” between the support that the administration provides to find employment for these people and “the active search for employment and the acceptance of appropriate offers,” which are required of recipients of aid.. The Secretary of State defended that the system must take into account “the shortage” of profiles in “many sectors” of the Spanish economy. In addition, he pointed out that the minimum vital income incorporates “social protection elements” that cover needs that previously depended on these employment subsidies.

According to the latest available statistics from the Ministry of Labor, there are currently 710,622 people who receive some type of unemployment benefit after having exhausted their contributory benefit.. Of them, the majority are unemployed over 52 years old, who have particularly difficult employability and often accumulate long periods of unemployment.