Félix Peinado (ILO Spain): “Social dialogue is our hallmark”

Félix Peinado is the Director of the Office of the International Labor Organization ILO for Spain since October 1, 2021. With a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid and an Executive MBA from the IE Business School, he has also completed numerous management programs at schools such as IESE and ESIC. He has been general secretary of CECAM CEOE-CEPYME, member of the Board of Directors of CEOE, president of Aval Castilla-La Mancha SGR, member of the Economic and Social Council (CES) of Spain where he has chaired the Labor Relations and Economics Commissions, and has been an associate professor at IE University.

In a minute, what is the ILO?

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is the United Nations agency specialized in the world of work. It was created in 1919 and is currently made up of 187 States. The ILO has an important peculiarity and is its tripartite form of government: in addition to the representatives of governments, representatives of employers' and workers' organizations from all countries are part of the ILO, voting on equal terms, which is why it is thus the only international organization that has this form of tripartite government.

The ILO has an important normative function since through the 190 Conventions it has issued to date, in addition to other non-normative mechanisms, it establishes labor, social protection and employment standards that are applicable in member countries from the moment they ratify them

The ILO's mandate seeks to improve working conditions in the world but also to generate decent employment opportunities, improve social protection and strengthen tripartite dialogue on labor-related issues.

In his extensive professional career he has learned about different perspectives of the world of work and labor relations from diverse and sometimes distant fields such as the university, the Administration and the company. Are they really as different worlds as they seem?

Obviously each space has its peculiarities and different mission, although they are all encouraged by one, the proper functioning of labor relations. The Law is immensely useful in societies and without it we would not be able to coexist and relate properly. Each area has its own mission and, developing it properly, everyone's work converges towards a common goal. Sometimes you can hear the complaint that they are entities that do not interact properly, although I have always appreciated that there is more communication and relationship than it seems.

What value do you attribute to social dialogue between the Administration and the social partners? Is Spain also different from other countries in this aspect?

Social dialogue between governments, business organizations and unions is, as I said, a hallmark of the ILO from its own governance structure and decision-making system.Since its founding more than one hundred years ago, the ILO has always defended and defends the value of social dialogue as it enriches democratic quality, contributes to the improvement of standards, making them more in line with the interests of all parties, making them more durable and improving the quality of the planning and execution of public policies.

Social dialogue also contributes to social peace which, together with legal security and institutional stability, are key foundations for economic and employment activity and growth

The Spanish social partners (CEOE, CEPYME, CCOO and UGT) and the Government of Spain have reached numerous social dialogue agreements that have been applied in plans and regulations that affect the operation of companies, labor relations and the social protection of workers. Only during the Covid-19 pandemic, six Social Agreements in Defense of Employment have been reached that have proven to be very useful, as well as numerous other agreements, including the latest labor reform, standing out internationally for the capacity of the three parties to achieve them. The ILO has highlighted the importance of all these agreements.

We are faced with a labor reform that has led to a change in the types of contracts and labor relations in general. Do you think the reform is appropriate and necessary? What deficiencies have been left pending for the next one?

The reform was necessary because the Spanish labor market has particular conditions that make labor relations and competitiveness as a country difficult, such as the high level of temporary employment and high unemployment rates, both doubling the European average. These problems are exacerbated in the case of young people and women.

The social partners and the Government began the negotiation of a shared diagnosis and I think it is very positive that the reform was negotiated tripartitely and that, through the agreement, it was able to capture the main concerns and interests of all parties.

The labor reform has proven useful in its first months in reducing temporary employment, with unpublished data on indefinite hiring. Its effects on youth unemployment, on the rebalancing of collective bargaining and on the internal flexibility of companies remain to be seen, especially now that we are facing a difficult economic period. In parallel with the labor reform, there have been significant regulatory changes in matters such as transparency and equal pay that are still in an early stage of implementation but can help address the gender pay gap and reduce broader gender inequalities in the labor market. There are always challenges and one of the most important is the necessary transformation of the initial training of workers and training throughout their lives, to promote their employability, better working conditions, adaptation to the climate and digital transformations that we are experiencing, the productivity of companies and the competitiveness of the economy.

The objectives of social justice and decent work are priorities for the ILO and for Fraternidad-Muprespa as a mutual collaborator with Social Security. They are also important for a group as important in labor relations as social graduates. What is your relationship with this group? And with the mutuals?

Social graduates are an essential group to contribute to the decent work advocated by the ILO.Properly advising companies and workers, they cooperate with the rest of the agents involved in improving working conditions and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The mutual societies that collaborate with Social Security play a key role in the protection of workers and are an example of efficiency and public-private collaboration

I have had the opportunity to know and especially value his work as a member for several years of the board of directors of a mutual insurance company. The ILO Office for Spain has traditionally collaborated with social graduates and mutual societies, helping to disseminate international standards and the principles of decent work.

What importance do you attribute to training as a tool to achieve these objectives?

The ILO Office in Spain is permanently participating in training activities promoted by academia, social partners and all agents involved in labor relations, fully convinced of its essential role in making the objectives of social justice and decent work that are the ultimate goal of the organization truly operational and palpable.

For its part, the ILO, at the request of its members, is developing a strategy to help states promote and improve training by focusing on strengthening public and private education and training entities, training in the workplace and validating professional skills

As I said before, training is key for working people and companies. On the other hand, I would like to highlight that the ILO has an International Training Center (CIF) in Turin where you can access a wide catalog of face-to-face and online training in the different areas of employment and labor relations.

In addition to training, information is also important, and here the role of communication is relevant. What role does it play in the ILO's strategy and in its day-to-day life? What is your favorite channel? Are you a social media user?

One of the missions of the Spanish Office is precisely to contribute to increasing the visibility of the Decent Work Program and the ILO through the media, the production and dissemination of publications and bulletins, promotion and training. The ILO generates a lot of information about the world of work.

Currently, digital channels are essential to deliver messages to society and interested parties and the Office for Spain is working to enhance these means of communication

Personally, I am a user of several social networks. I once had a personal blog for several years.My favorite social network is LinkedIn, although I also get information and try to stay active on Twitter.

Looking to the future, and what challenges does the ILO face in the coming years?

The challenges are almost innumerable: with 60 percent of informal work, four billion working people without any social protection, 160 million children working, 28 million people in forced labor around the world, 2.9 million deaths each year due to causes attributable to work, a wage gap of 20 percent... it is obvious that there is a lot of work to be done. Added to this is a world undergoing dramatic climatic, digital and demographic transformation, which is challenging our capacity as humanity to provide responses that are effective and equitable.

The challenges for the world of work were listed in the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work approved in 2019. This Declaration also pointed out the solutions to the most important challenges

The ILO works actively on all fronts through its government institutions, its tripartite committees, forums and expert committees, as well as the work of the various departments of the Office, the field work of experts, specialists and the development of development cooperation projects.