<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Board of Directors of the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) has written to the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Xavier Martí Martí, to express its “great concern” about the excessive workload experienced by employees of Spanish embassies and consulates abroad, especially during election periods. In its response, the Ministry has committed to “adequately reconciling” the “circumstances of the civil servants” with its “obligation to provide a quality public service.”</strong></h4> As reported by the ADE this past Tuesday, January 27, in a statement, the Board of Directors conveyed to Martí “its great concern about the ever-increasing workload in a large number of our embassies and consulates abroad, without a corresponding increase in the available human resources.” The increased workload falls on “teams already overwhelmed with work,” and the “diplomats and other public employees” affected by this situation “find no understanding, support, or positive responses from the Ministry authorities to prevent the deterioration of working conditions, which impacts them personally and their families.” As an example, the ADE mentions the electoral processes, “which may occur repeatedly throughout 2026, and which require significant dedication from the staff of the Consulates General and consular sections of embassies, especially diplomats, who have received instructions that their leave will not be authorized during voting periods, ‘except for duly justified cases of force majeure.’” In this regard, the ADE cites the case of a member who was affected by the application of this regulation during the recent electoral process in Extremadura and who was denied leave, despite having “authorized vacation time” and “tickets purchased to come to Spain when the elections were called,” due to “a very restrictive interpretation of the concept of force majeure.” The ADE also recalls that in 2024, when four electoral processes took place in the first half of the year, there was consequently a “freeze” on vacations of between three and four months in the Consulates General and Consular Sections. “We believe that the criterion of force majeure should not only be interpreted more flexibly, but also governed with a sense of proportionality,” warns the Association, which “wants to know where it is stated that civil servants must waive authorized vacation time and suffer financial and other losses.” In its communication with Martí, ADE laments “this draconian treatment of civil servants, not only during electoral processes but in any other situation or circumstance,” and warns that “the public administration in a State governed by the rule of law must respect the rights and dignity of its employees, guarantee that procedures are followed, that decisions directly affecting them are made rationally and with sound reasoning, and facilitate adequate working conditions.” “Therefore, we have informed the Undersecretary that we consider the inflexibility demonstrated by Central Services, the empty meaning given to the concept of force majeure, the flagrant violation of work-life balance, and the indifference to guaranteeing service provision to be extremely serious, and we request that the relevant units be instructed to make more appropriate decisions regarding situations that may arise throughout the year or in the future,” the text continues. In response to this request, the ADE received a communication from the Undersecretary on Monday of this week, as instructed by the Undersecretary, in the following terms: “You can rest assured that, with regard to future electoral processes, the different scenarios that may arise will be carefully analyzed, and on a case-by-case basis, with the aim of adequately reconciling the different circumstances of the officials with the obligation to provide a quality public service that guarantees fundamental rights, inherent to consular functions.”
