The Government has decided this Monday with social agents to extend for one month, until March 31, the temporary employment regulation files (ERTE) associated with the pandemic, maintaining unemployment benefits for workers but with a reduction in exemptions for companies.
According to sources from UGT and CCOO, the Government will approve in the Council of Ministers on Tuesday this transitional period until March 31, a period that will allow companies to adapt to the new models of the labor reform.
In this month of transition, the covid ERTE -under which about 100,000 people remain and whose scheme expired this February 28- will maintain the conditions of protection for workers but the exemptions to the fees paid by companies to Social Security will be reduced by 20 points.
Thus, they explain from CCOO, they go from 80% to 60% for companies where there are training plans, while where these plans are not developed they go from 40% to 20% if they have 10 or more workers and from 50% to 30% in the case of 10 or fewer workers. The exemption for ERTE due to force majeure will be 90%.
A month of transit
During this month of transition, companies must request the change to an ERTE for economic, technical, organizational or production reasons (ETOP) or force majeure "in accordance with the new wording of articles 47 and 47 bis of the labor reform".
Both employers and unions had requested the Government for a transition period to adapt the files that the Executive has agreed to enable.
In addition to this, it has also been agreed to activate the RED protection mechanism for travel agencies, one of the sectors most affected with about 30% of its affiliates under an ERTE.
This authorization, explain the same sources, will be carried out in a new Council of Ministers.
In the cases of ERTEs caused by the eruption of the volcano in La Palma, the extension is until June 30 and the transition, explain from CCOO, is automatic to force majeure maintaining the same conditions.
It has also been agreed to extend the Mecuida Plan until June 30.
The Government maintains the exemptions for the self-employed
The Ministry of Inclusion will maintain the exemptions in social security contributions for the 110,000 self-employed workers who are currently collecting the cessation of activity, with discounts that will be reduced from 90% in March, 75% in April, 50% in May and 25% in June.
According to the association of self-employed workers ATA, the extraordinary benefit for suspension of activity linked to an administrative resolution, which is now received by 200 people, will also be maintained "in case there is a rebound of covid in some sector or moment".
The extraordinary benefit for the self-employed of La Palma is also extended until June 30.
However, the benefit compatible with self-employment, which until now protects 22,600 self-employed workers, and the one linked to low income, which is received by 84,800, are eliminated.
