The meeting of the Covid_19 Monitoring Committee on Tuesday, March 31 has analyzed the development of the activity during the day after the end of the moratorium that the Royal Legislative Decree granted in the final text published on March 29.
This committee observes with amazement the difficult situations that have been created as a result of the lack of concreteness of the current central executive.
For each rule that emanates from the Government of Spain, orders arise continuously to clarify the content of the Royal Decrees and the Royal Decree Laws that have flooded the pages of the BOE for the last 15 days.
Of course, the situation of the state of alarm, as a consequence of the pandemic of Covid_19, generates modifications in the circumstances to which it is necessary to adapt through the orders of the delegated authorities of the Government, but it would have been desirable not to have planted so many Doubts.
The order of the Ministry of Health SND / 307/2020 has clarified that self-employed workers whose activity has not been paralyzed by RD 463/2020 that declared the state of alarm, can continue to carry out their activity normally, so they are not subject to mobility limitations.
In other words, non-essential activities can be carried out normally by the self-employed, but not by employees.
This incredible situation has left us the following snapshot today: employers, business owners and in the self-employed regime, can carry out their activity normally, but they cannot dispose of their workers.
Self-employed workers who also have hired workers may work, but neither can they have their workers.
The thing is, the freelancers don't know what to do.
They cannot take leave of activity while they have to maintain employment and grant a compulsory paid leave to their employees.
There were not a few calls that FRECOM has received to confirm that they could move normally, they even wondered what documentation they had to carry with them to prove that they are self-employed.
From the Government Delegation they have confirmed that self-employed workers can work and to prove that they are self-employed, they must take the last receipt of the self-employed worker and a responsible declaration signed by the self-employed worker himself saying that he is self-employed and identify the work the one that moves.
In another order, a debate has been generated on the possibility or not of presenting an ERTE due to force majeure during the period of this compulsory paid leave.
The interpretation of this committee, in line with the interpretation that, at least until yesterday, March 30, 2020, made by the National Construction Confederation, is that no ERTE can be presented due to force majeure.
However, articles in the press have emerged today from experts in labor law who believe that it can be done.
The confusion comes from the wording of article 1.2.c) .ii) of Royal Decree Law 10/2020, which says that the leave paid to workers will not be applied when during the period of validity of this leave (from March 30 to 9 April) an ERTE is authorized for reasons of force majeure.
For the aforementioned labor law professionals, this means that such ERTE can be presented, as otherwise it cannot be authorized.
For this committee, the wording of RDL 10/2020 distinguishes 3 cases in total in which the paid leave is excepted: 1.- when the suspension of the contract is already being applied by an ERTE granted before the entry into force of RDL 10 / 2020.
2.- When the ERTE application has been submitted before but no resolution authorizing it has been received, that is, while it is being processed and 3.- When the ERTE has been authorized during the period of validity of the paid permit.
This third case has been expressly mentioned to differentiate the result of the request submitted before the entry into force that is notified during the period of validity of the paid leave.
If the ERTE is not authorized, the paid permission will apply retroactively from March 30.
If it is authorized, the contract will be suspended and the paid permission will not apply, which is exactly what article 1.2.c) .ii) says.
Likewise, there have been problems with the interpretation of what is an indispensable activity for which a minimum of staff can be allocated.
The order of the aforementioned Ministry of Health has clarified that it will be the company that decides which workers it includes in that minimum workforce and has published an annex with a responsible statement that the company must issue to the worker who is going to be part of that minimum of template so you can justify your move.
The issue is that it has not been clarified what, for example, in our sector is an indispensable activity, which has resulted in companies that have sent workers to carry out work surveillance of the works to avoid accidents or thefts, they have been surprised by the instructions of the Civil Guard that they have to return to their homes.
CROEM's support with the Government Delegate has made it possible to change the criteria and allow the supervision of works to be considered an essential activity.
This is also being considered by a draft order of the General Directorate of Roads that we hope will be published between today, March 31 and tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1.
This committee would like to thank the Government Delegate and his entire team for the excellent work they are doing, their closeness, the level of dialogue and their outstanding involvement in conflict resolution, as well as the adequate interpretation of the actions to be carried out. on the part of the professionals of the sector before the casuistry so diverse that it is taking place on the occasion of the Covid_19.
On the part of FRECOM we continue to offer all the information, as well as the possible clarifications to the construction entrepreneurs in the face of so much confusion, but we need a boost from the Government of Spain ending this improvisation exercise that has caught us off guard and is not being managed with the necessary solvency to respond to the uncertainty generated.
The monitoring committee notes that the ICO financing lines and the guarantees offered by Aválam are experiencing a significant increase in requests for information.
We want to highlight that Aválam contemplates the activities of the construction sector, with the exception of real estate activities.
This monitoring committee, through information and FRECOM staff, can provide information on the entities offering the financing.
During the next few days we will be pending the evolution of all those works that have been considered essential and of what is finally accepted as essential minimum services.
Next, we present the tenth report of the Covid_19 Monitoring Committee:
INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS
The associations that make up FRECOM are preparing reports regarding the needs and difficulties that companies are facing these days to transmit them to the corresponding managers of the central administration.
Proposals are also being made for the necessary measures to be taken now to be ready when the activity resumes.
Regarding relations with the regional administration, we continue to contact the Government Delegation, CROEM, the Ministry of Development and the Regional Government in order to communicate the consequences of the decisions taken in recent days by the Government of Spain.
OBSERVED INCIDENCES
- Construction is paralyzed in 90%, they only carry out public works declared of emergency and the activity of self-employed workers who do not need additional personnel.
- The materials supply companies open for the supply of emergency works have doubts about the possibility of supplying the self-employed who have confirmed the continuation of their activity.
- There have been problems with the supervision of the works early in the day that have been solved.
- The self-employed have doubts about whether they can carry out their activity normally.
FRECOM ACTIONS
FRECOM staff have successfully conducted 48 telephone surveys, in addition to the 392 surveys that were conducted in the past few days, and total 440 surveys.
Today, the SAI Covid_19, our Service of Attention and Information to the Sector, has answered by phone, email or WhatsApp a total of 75 queries, the result of which is as follows:
- Many freelancers wonder if they can continue working normally.
- Entrepreneurs ask in each specific case if it is an essential activity.
- Some employers wonder if the maintenance services of certain private facilities can be further developed, given that it displaces few staff and is not a daily activity.
- Companies are wondering if urgent repairs, related to waterproofing of facades or broken pipes, can be considered essential activities.
- There are doubts about the possibility of presenting an ERTE due to force majeure or not as of March 30.
ECONOMIC MEASURES
The Covid_19 monitoring committee continues to work on expanding the economic measures that have been proposed to date in previous reports to identify those that will be required of each of the administrations (national, autonomous and local) and whose heterogeneity requires analyzing the casuistry of each subsector carefully.
This monitoring committee invites all professionals in the sector to incorporate proposals to include in the report of measures to be requested.
As every day, we ask you to take care of your health and that of your workers, following the appropriate prevention measures.
Together we build future
FRECOM Covid_19 Monitoring Committee
