Spain
Key Facts
| Population | 46,196,276 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 70% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 19% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
industry – but new law gives precedence to company agreements |
| Workplace Representation |
works council – although dominated by unions which are also present directly |
| Board-level Representation |
yes: state-owned companies |
| Company Board Structure |
monistic |
Sources: see individual country sections; where a range of figures has been quoted, the lower number has been taken
Trade Unions
Probably only around one in seven employees in Spain (14%) are union members, although the results of elections to works councils indicate that unions have much wider support. There are two dominant union confederations in Spain, CCOO and the UGT, although there are other important groupings at regional level and in the public sector.
more ...Collective Bargaining
Negotiations take place at national, industry and company level in Spain, with a national agreement generally providing a framework for lower-level bargaining. The overall level of coverage of collective bargaining is high at around 80% of employees, and major legal changes introduced in 2012, have not changed this.
more ...Workplace Representation
Elected works councils are the main channel of workplace representation for employees in Spain, although the law also gives a specific role to the unions at the workplace and in larger workplaces the trade union delegate may be the key figure. The works councils themselves are dominated by the unions and, as well as having information and consultation rights, they also bargain on pay and conditions at company level.
more ...Board-level Representation
There is no overall right to employee board-level representation. However, there are a small number of employees on the boards of some publicly owned companies.
more ...European-level Representation
Spanish members of bodies concerned with European Works Councils and European Companies are chosen by the unions which either together or separately have majority support in the companies concerned. On European Companies, the legislation makes clear that they should be selected in line with the support that the unions have received in the works council elections.
more ...Health and Safety Representation
Health and safety representatives in Spain should be present in all companies and workplaces employing more than five people. They are chosen by and from among the existing employee representatives. They have substantial consultation rights, and in larger companies (50 or more employees) they work with the employer in health and safety committees.
more ...Financial Participation
Despite the efforts of the EU to boost the incidence of workers’ financial participation employee share ownership schemes in Spain are at a lower level than in the 1990s. With regard to how widespread profit-sharing schemes are in Spain recent studies come to different conclusions.
more ...