Roberto Ordúñez |
Madrid (EFE).- The unions of the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate (ITSS) today face the third day of strike with the demand to modernize and provide the body with more technical and human resources to improve both the quality of the service and the conditions of their workers.
In a conversation with EFE, the inspector and representative of the CCOO in the Inspection, Josetxo Gándara, denounces that the workload in the organization “borders or exceeds the bearable limit”, a situation that affects the health of officials and complicates the own work of the ITSS.
“Who watches the watchman?” or “at the blacksmith’s house, a wooden knife” are some of the phrases with which Gándara, ironically, laments the inconsistency of ensuring good working conditions for all the workers while the Inspection employees are they feel mistreated.
The ITSS has around 3,000 troops spread throughout the national territory, of which approximately 2,000 have inspection tasks, to control the activity of more than 20 million Social Security affiliates, as well as that of pensioners.
The agency went on strike for the first time in its history on December 21 and did so again on January 25; Pending the strike next Wednesday, the unions do not rule out an indefinite strike.
Sources from the Ministry of Labor consulted by EFE indicate that, in the last three years, the ITSS budget has grown by 41.5%, going from 145.8 million euros to 206.3 million and that, in addition, “it is executing a significant increase in the number of inspection forces”.
The organizations demand compliance with the agreement they reached with said ministry in July 2021, which includes a new list of jobs (RPT) and a reinforcement of the body, although carrying out said agreement also depends on the Ministry of Finance and Public Function.
A perverse system
A sub-inspector from the province of Madrid attached to the National Anti-Fraud Office, who prefers not to make his name public, tells in an interview with EFE that in recent years they have gone from working for complaints to also working for campaigns that they design based on information gathered by an algorithm, a change that has generated an “avalanche” of work.
“So far this year they have charged me with 48 files, more than days so far this year,” says this sub-inspector, who also denounces that the productivity system is “perverse”, because 30% of his salary depends on the Fulfillment of objectives that often require lengthening the day to 50 hours a week, even working on weekends.
In addition, since there is no time record in the ITSS, overtime is not rewarded.
From the Ministry of Labor they remind that the work system of the inspectors, being based on objectives, works with a “flexible schedule”.
“Meeting the objectives and deadlines generates psychosocial risks for us”, warns this deputy inspector, who also points to the difficulties in reconciling work and family life: “a year ago I was going to pick up my daughters from school in the afternoon. Now I can be working until 20:30”.
“Instrumentalization” of the ITSS
“There is a certain instrumentalization of what the Inspection achieves,” says Gándara, who criticizes the “meanness” of the Government when it comes to reinforcing the body despite its “praise” and “flowery verb.”
The president of the Union of Labor and Social Security Inspectors, Ana Ercoreca, recalls that the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, recognized that the ITSS was working beyond its means, before asking it to “comply with its commitments.” .
“You will have noticed a profusion of news about the ITSS”, indicates the deputy inspector interviewed, some news, he says, that is based on his “sweat and workload” because with the current ministerial team they are “totally overwhelmed and overloaded”, when doing This is a “political use” of the organism.
Ercoreca, an inspector in the province of Huesca, says that they have to get around using their private vehicle and that they use their mobile to communicate: “they call you at any time due to a fatal (work) accident and you, with your car, you have to go immediately.”
The unions have denounced that the Government, despite valuing their work, does not provide them with the necessary means, even more so in a context of regulatory change -such as the approval of the labor reform- and transformation of the labor market.
The sources of labor consulted point out their “firm commitment” to the structural, organizational and technical reinforcement of the ITSS in order to enhance inspection performance and improve the distribution of work.
