Telefónica has intensified negotiations on the Expediente Employment Regulation (ERE) to lower the overall minimum allocation to 5,521 people and significantly improve the conditions of employees, even if “substantial differences” with the unions, in particular the UGT, persist.
During the new session of the Comisión Negociadora del ERE, held this month for Telefónica de España, Telefónica Móviles and Telefónica Soluciones, the company’s management put on the table a proposal that introduces a crucial limit for the majority of naked people. The main basis for moving forward in the negotiations is its commitment to refrain from carrying out forced layoffs in the three main branches included in the agreement of linked companies (CEV), if a threshold of 4.600 voluntary base is reached. The proposal sets this number as the number of departures in the three branches of the CEV, while the maximum is maintained at the 5,040 people initially planned.
If this voluntary minimum is reached in the CEV, the minimum total number of people concerned in all the seven branches of the collective would be 5,521 people, totaling 4,600 exits from the CEV and 921 proposals for four other branches: Telefónica SA, Global Solutions, Innovación Digital and Movistar Plus+. In this way, the allocation would be reduced to the overall figure of 5,961 currently negotiated exits, and around 6,088 from the initial proposal.
The UGT, although it recognized “relevant progress”, rejected the planned minimum yield, insisting on the need to reduce this figure to guarantee the total exclusion of measures of force.
Economic Improvements
The company has also taken a step forward in improving the economic and disadvantageous conditions. Regarding the Special Agreement with Social Security (CEES), Telefónica has agreed to extend its coverage to the years preceding the legal age of ordinary retirement, with a limit of 65 years. This is one of the main union demands, which seeks to protect employees who do not reach the contribution threshold necessary for a loss of 63 years. However, the company conditions this measure on the worker reaching the required seniority at the actual time of their departure.
Concerning the seniority and exit criteria, the requirement of 15 years of seniority is maintained throughout the duration of the plan, with flexibility in the voluntary subscription options. Generally speaking, the economic conditions offered to employees born between 1969 and 1971 with 15 years of experience are maintained at 68% of income. Despite these improvements, there remain points of friction linked to outstanding union demands.
In the context of surplus and strategic zones, the UGT considers the percentage of 35% of proposed exits to non-surplus zones insufficient and insists on its exclusion from the calculation to maximize the possibilities of voluntary recruitment. It also requires accepting a percentage greater than 35% in surplus areas, seeking transparency on the future profiles retained and priority to those that will be retained in the previous ERA of 2024.
Concerning job creation, the company maintains its commitment at 7%, but the unions demand to increase this percentage, at least, to 10%. Regarding the principle of volunteering, while in the ERE of other branches (Telefónica Innovación Digital, Soluciones Globales y SA) it has been introduced, CC OO insists that this also be included in the negotiations of the CEV branches. Finally, the collective agreement continues to have a stuck aspect, since a new one is being negotiated which serves as a framework for the entire strategic plan of the company.
Time is running out, given that this is the penultimate week of negotiations, putting pressure on both sides to reach an agreement avoiding traumatic steps.
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