WORLD NEWS: The Government attacks Feijóo for his plan against absenteeism, forgetting that in 2024 he wanted to cut sick leave due to cancer
World News Update:
International observers are closely monitoring the latest developments as new information continues to emerge.
Pedro Sánchez, Yolanda Díaz, Mónica García and Elma Saiz came out in a storm this Tuesday against Alberto Núñez Feijóo for his words about “unsustainable absenteeism from work.” The President of the Government and his ministers accused him of “calling sick leave cancer” and of wanting to “cut the salaries of sick workers.” The president stated that “whoever calls sick leave ‘cancer’ and proposes that sick workers earn less makes it clear which side they are on.” The second vice president maintained that “being sick is not a choice” and that “unprotecting” working people is. The Minister of Health focused on the fact that sick leave is a medical act and accused the leader of the PP of stigmatizing the sick with his metaphor. And the head of Social Security accused Feijóo for “punishing” the sick worker and for wanting to alter collective agreements “because he says so.” But the paradox is that Saiz herself defended in October 2024 a new model of cutting sick leave due to cancer and stroke to promote an early return to work gradually. That approach has already opened the debate on how to make health and work activity compatible… and the controversy within the Government. There is only one reason behind temporary disability: to protect the health of working people. There are no more options or reasons. Neither flexibility nor partiality, you don’t play with health. https://t.co/u5A7o5MSRh— Yolanda Díaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) October 3, 2024 Saiz’s plan consisted of certain employees being able to modulate their return to work according to their clinical evolution, to reduce burdens on Social Security. The minister then argued that “a flexible scheme” would favor recovery and relieve the system. This Tuesday, in his speech before the Basque Businessmen’s Circle, in Bilbao, the leader of the PP did not speak of the sick as a “cancer”, but used that metaphor to refer to the growing absenteeism as a whole. Feijóo described this phenomenon as “a cancer that we cannot pay for” and warned that he will address it “with or without an agreement” with the unions and employers when govern Even though the popular leader did not detail specific measures, he did anticipate that he will make executive decisions if he reaches Moncloa. At that meeting, the PP leader tried to align himself with the concerns of the business community regarding labor costs and sustainability of Social Security. Growing alert Feijóo spoke to businessmen who have been warning for months about the growing impact of absenteeism on competitiveness. He also did so by linking his criticism of the Government’s management with the wave of corruption cases, and the “high reputational cost” of that all of NATO will know that Sánchez’s wife is not traveling because her passport has been withdrawn.” In his speech, the president of the PP recalled that in 2018 there were some 450,000 workers who did not go to work every day. That this figure has more than doubled now, because it has already exceeded 1.1 million in 2025. And that the Basque Country was at the head of absenteeism in the first quarter of 2026. The data Officials, Feijóo warned, indicate that the cost associated with these absences exceeds 30,000 million euros per year. And if the Social Security deficit amounted to 70,000 million, to conclude that “this is not sustainable” and that it must be addressed “with or without agreement” by employers and unions. The concern about absenteeism is not new and is supported by data that has already set off alarms in the business world. A Randtad study, released. Recently, it places the proportion of workers who miss work each day in Spain at around 7%. This report raises the data beyond the official data cited by Feijóo, and estimates that 1.6 million people do not go to work daily, with around 1.4 million in a situation of temporary disability. Business organizations warn that the increase in sick leave compromises productivity and hiring decisions. Some employers have even spoken of an “absenteeism pandemic” and a problem. “critical” for the Spanish economy. Among the employers’ proposals are that Social Security assume more costs of sick leave and that the role of mutual insurance companies be reinforced. It has also been put on the table to recover dismissal for absenteeism, abolished in 2020, and to review incentives and medical controls. These types of measures have been contested by professional organizations, which warn of the risk of distrust of clinical judgment. Emotional componentIn this context, the choice of the term “cancer” by the party. of Feijóo to refer to absenteeism, casual or not, with respect to the Government’s proposal in October 2024, added an emotional component to the debate. The metaphor made it easier for the Government and the left to attribute contempt towards the sick and towards the sick people themselves. The leader of the PP tried to illustrate what he considers an “almost certain fraud” above certain percentages of absenteeism. The data used by studies on absenteeism point to a cost that is close to half of the basic deficit of the Security. Social, 70,000 million a year. This explains why the issue has entered fully into the business agenda and, now, into the struggle between the Government and the opposition. But the truth is that the head of the Ministry herself wanted to address the crisis, a little more than a year and a half ago, addressing that cost with incentives for the gradual reinstatement of workers on sick leave due to serious pathologies. Her proposal sought to make protection and sustainability compatible, and precisely placed sick leave due to cancer as one of the pilot cases of this new model.
Global Impact:
This event is already generating discussion among political analysts and international organizations worldwide.
Observers believe further developments could significantly shape the direction of this story in the near future.
Readers are encouraged to monitor future developments as the situation evolves.
Source: This article was originally published by El Español – Home and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.