Unemployment Grows In Spain, Along With Disparity
A few years ago, Spain's fast-expanding economy was creating a third of all new jobs in the European Union.
But in the past year, about 1 out of every 2 layoffs in Europe has been in Spain, where the unemployment rate has soared to more than 17 percent.
Amid the global recession in Spain, losing a job can be a catastrophe — or it can be like hitting the jackpot.
Temporary Workers Hit Hard
Ainhoa Balsera, 30, used to work as a cleaning lady. On a recent day, she visited an unemployment office in the Madrid suburb of Alcobendas.
"It used to take less than 15 days to find a job," she says. "Now, there's nothing. Things are bad."
Her last job was at a public school, which had just been renovated. The work lasted a month and a half.
Now, she is collecting a monthly welfare check of $550.
"I'm surviving, barely, but I have no alternative," says Balsera, who has a 9-year-old daughter.
Her story is typical in Spain, where 4 million people are now out of work. Most of them are female and young, and many are immigrants. For those under 25, the jobless rate is nearly 32 percent. Many people who had jobs in construction or the service industries during the housing boom are now unemployed and get minimum benefits.
But it is an entirely different story for experienced workers leaving white-collar contract positions and union jobs.
Some Enjoy Golden Parachutes
These days, Fred Ankaoua spends lots of time at home with his two young sons, and he is finally working on the novel he had long dreamed of writing.
The 45-year-old Frenchman used to work for a telecom company in Madrid. After six years with the firm, he agreed to a voluntary dismissal. In exchange, he received a generous severance package.
One advantage is that he is home more with the children, he says.
"Usually, when I used to work, I was coming back late, so very often I came and the kids were at bed. So now, at least I can catch them at school and see them before they go to sleep," he says.
White-collar workers are not the only ones getting such golden parachutes. A few weeks ago, autoworkers laid off from a Nissan plant in Barcelona were given up to $150,000 each.
Such payouts are one reason there has been little labor unrest in Spain, even though there are more people out of work now than at any time in the past half-century.
Labor Law Out Of Sync With Labor Market
By law, a company that fires an employee with a contract must pay at least 20 days per year worked. But many offer several times that much, in order to avoid strikes and drawn-out court battles.
Ken Dubin, an American-born labor expert who teaches at a business school in Madrid, says the system is designed to protect the worker who stays at the same job until retirement and who is the only breadwinner of his household.
"This is the assumption underlying Spanish labor law. It obviously has nothing to do with the way the labor market works these days," he says.
In Spain in recent years, employers got around restrictive labor regulations by hiring lots of temporary workers, and that has created a two-tier labor market, Dubin says.
"So there's a certain group of people for whom this crisis basically means winning the lottery. And it's not a small group of people," he says.
But for an even larger group of people, Dubin says, the downturn has cut off virtually all access to benefits, with the excerption of health care and basic social assistance.
Inequity Stain On Socialist Government
The free health care lifts a huge burden from the unemployed. But Spain's socialist government has come under intense criticism for the country's high unemployment rate and the inequity in benefits. The government is under pressure to reduce the high cost of firing workers so that companies will be more inclined to hire them.
But Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was defiant at a recent political rally. He enjoys support from Spain's major unions, whose membership is mostly made up of workers with contracts.
"There will be neither reforms to facilitate layoffs nor reductions in social expenditures, because I won't be blackmailed by anybody," he said.
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Just a few years ago, Spain's fast-expanding economy was creating a third of all new jobs in the European Union. In the past year, though, about one out of every two layoffs in Europe has been in Spain. The unemployment rate has soared to more than 17 percent. Still, losing a job in Spain can either be a catastrophe or like hitting the jackpot. Jerome Socolovsky explains.
JEROME SOCOLOVSKY: A 30-year-old woman walks into an unemployment office in the Madrid suburb of Alcobendas. Ainhoa Balsera used to work as a cleaning lady.
Ms. AINHOA BALSERA: (Foreign language spoken)
SOCOLOVSKY: It used to take less than 15 days to find a job, she says. Now there's nothing. Things are bad. Her last job was at a public school which had just been renovated. The work lasted a month and a half.
Ms. BALSERA: (Foreign language spoken)
SOCOLOVSKY: They hired me shortly before the vacation, she says. I was supposed to leave the school tidy and clean and when everything was done, Balsera says, they told me that's it.
Ms. BALSERA: (Spanish language spoken)
SOCOLOVSKY: Now I'm collecting a welfare check for $550 dollars a month, and I'm surviving barely, but I have no alternative, says Balsera who has a nine-year-old daughter. Her story is typical in Spain. There are four million people now out of work - most of them are female, young, and many of them are immigrants. In fact, for those under 25, the jobless rate is nearly 32 percent. Many of those people had jobs in construction or the service industries during the housing boom, now they get the minimum benefits. But for workers with job contracts and a few years of seniority it's an entirely different story.
(Soundbite of foreign language)
SOCOLOVSKY: Fred Ankaoua spends a lot of time at home with his two small boys these days, and he's finally working on the novel he'd long dreamed of writing. The 45-year-old Frenchman used to work for a telecoms firm in Madrid. After six years with the company, he agreed to a voluntary dismissal and in exchange he got more than a $100,000 in severance.
Mr. FRED ANKAOUA (Former telecoms employee): One advantage when you retire is that you are more at home with the kids.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. ANKAOUA: Usually, when I used to work, I was coming back late, I was a little bit sad, so very often I came and the kids were already at bed. So now, at least I can even catch them at school and see them before they go to sleep.
SOCOLOVSKY: It is by no means just white collar workers who get such golden parachutes. Few weeks ago, auto workers laid off from a Nissan plant in Barcelona were given up to a $150,000 each. By law, a firm in Spain that fires an employee with a contract must pay at least 20 days per year worked. But many offer several times that much to avoid strikes and drawn-out court battles. Ken Dubin is an American-born labor expert who teaches at a business school in Madrid. At a café near the school he says the system is designed to protect the worker who stays at the same job until retirement and who is the only breadwinner of his household.
Mr. KEN DUBIN (Labor expert): This is the assumption underlying Spanish labor law. It obviously has nothing to do with the way the labor market works these days.
SOCOLOVSKY: In Spain employers got around the restrictive labor regulations by hiring lots of temporary workers. Dubin says this has created a two-tier labor market.
Mr. DUBIN: So there's a certain group of people for whom this crisis basically means winning the lottery. And it's not a small group of people. However, there's a perhaps even larger group of people who have virtually no access to benefits, whatsoever, with the exception of their healthcare and basic social assistance.
SOCOLOVSKY: The free health care does lift a huge burden from the unemployed, but the inequity and the high unemployment rate are an embarrassment for Spain's socialist government. It's under pressure to reduce the high cost of firing workers so that companies will be more inclined to hire them. At a recent political rally, though, the Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was defiant.
Prime Minister JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (Spain): (Foreign language spoken)
SOCOLOVSKY: There will be neither reforms to facilitate layoffs nor reductions in social expenditures, because I won't be blackmailed by anybody, he said. The Prime Minister knows he will get support from Spain's major unions. Their membership is mostly made up of workers with contracts, and that's one reason why there's been so little labor unrest in Spain, even though there are more people out of work now than at any time in the past half century.
For NPR News, I'm Jerome Socolovsky in Madrid. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
