CCOO demands adaptation of Foreign Ministry staff labor framework “to the realities of the Southern Hemisphere”

Eduardo González The Workers' Commissions (CCOO) union has demanded that the Government adapt the working hours and schedules of staff working abroad (PLEX) “to the realities of the Southern Hemisphere,” including the organization of intensive summer work schedules and the extension of annual leave periods until the end of the Southern Hemisphere summer. CCOO-Foreign Affairs conveyed this in a press release following a meeting, along with the UGT union, with the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration within the framework of the monitoring committee for the Framework Agreement for a 21st Century Administration. At the meeting, further progress towards the implementation of a 35-hour workweek in the General State Administration (AGE) was confirmed. In the press release, CCOO-Foreign Affairs stated that “working hours are part of the general regulations of the Administration” and, therefore, “there cannot be a gap in rights between staff stationed within Spain and those stationed abroad.” According to the union, the current regulations on working hours, schedules, and vacations (specifically the Resolution of February 28, 2019, from the State Secretariat for Public Administration) “were designed based on the realities of the Northern Hemisphere, which has led to problems in the foreign service, especially in countries in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons, school calendar, and vacation periods do not coincide with those of the Northern Hemisphere.” “CCOO-Exterior has been highlighting this situation for years, which has clearly resulted in disadvantages regarding work-life balance, work organization, and vacation time for personnel stationed in countries in the Southern Hemisphere,” the union stated. Therefore, CCOO-Exterior demands “the adaptation of the Resolution on working hours and schedules to the realities of the Southern Hemisphere, including the organization of intensive summer work schedules and the extension of annual vacation periods until the end of the Southern Hemisphere summer.”

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