Background information

The Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC) is a pact signed in Spain between the main social partners. This agreement establishes the basis and general recommendations to guide collective bargaining in the country for a given period of time and includes recommendations on issues such as wages, working conditions and other relevant social issues. In other words, its contents are merely guidelines, not regulatory clauses that must be complied with by the parties negotiating collective bargaining agreements.

The fifth Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC) 2023 - 2025, signed in May 2023, consists of 16 chapters (e.g. covering pay, training, occupational health and safety, teleworking...). One of the chapters relates to the technological, digital and ecological transition. Thus, for the first time, this agreement specifically addresses the ecological transition, energy decarbonisation and the circular economy, insofar as they may alter production processes, affecting jobs, tasks and skills performed by workers.

In contrast, the previous agreements (AENCs 1 to 4) focused mainly on traditional aspects of collective bargaining, such as wages, working conditions and employment flexibility.

Content of measure

The fifth AENC suggests recommendations to the social partners for their collective bargaining processes.

In relation to the twin transition, it aims to ensure that the digital and ecological transitions are addressed early and effectively in collective bargaining, in order to raise awareness and identify solutions that can be adapted to different sector specificities and raise key issues.

The fifth AENC links energy and digital transition in terms of training and qualification; sustainability and social responsibility (encouraging companies to implement energy efficiency and sustainability measures in their activities); or green job creation (in areas linked to environmental sustainability and low-carbon economy).

Also, including these transitions in the agreenent, ensures that collective bargaining is aligned with sustainability objectives at the European level (e.g., the European Green Pact and Next Generation EU funds).

The agreement underlines the need for continuous training for workers to acquire skills related to digitization and sustainability, improving employability.

Use of measure

The impact of this measure is unknown. In practice, and concerning existing collective bargaining agreements, it is observed that environmental issues hardly appear. These issues are only mentioned in some specific sectors and companies. Thus, environmental clauses are not included in most collective bargaining agreements. Moreover, the contents are often just mere declarations of intent, the recognition of certain (legal) company obligations, or the establishment of certain environmental competencies for the Health and Safety Committee.

Contents

• Basic working time
• Employment retention
• Health and safety
• Income protection
• Other topics
• Pay increases
• Social protection, incl. pension
• Telework
• Training and employability
• Work organisation

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Trade unions Employers' organisations	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

This agreement is a pact designed and signed between main social agents (employers' organisations and trade unions).

Views and reactions

Social partners are calling on collective bargaining to ensure that new collective bargaining agreements address these transition processes early and effectively, including in energy decarbonisation and the circular economy. It is essential to identify new qualification needs, redesign jobs and promote sustainable mobility plans (encouraging collective transport through industrial estates or areas with a high concentration of workers).

In addition, unions point out that the effects and measures deriving from these transitions in the workplace must arise from participatory processes with the representation of workers, thus betting on the increase of democracy in companies. Trade union action should be aimed at creating spaces for social dialogue to ensure a just transition, proposing objectives and concrete measures for environmental improvement, and providing information, training and skills in environmental matters, among other things.

Sources

• 15 May 2023: V Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (cepyme.es)