The CEOE employers' confederation held a conference on Tuesday in Madrid about the rise in medical leaves. Participants called for mutual insurance companies to issue medical discharges and for Social Security to cover more costs.
Antonio Garamendi, CEOE president, requested that Social Security cover benefits and contributions for the first 15 days of common illness leave. He also called for more doctors, increased controls, and authority for mutuals to issue discharges in these cases.
Several regional organizations, including CEIM and ASPEL, asked to restore dismissal for absenteeism, abolished in 2020. Others proposed cutting wage supplements agreed in collective agreements and exempting social contributions for replacements.
Ángel Nicolás, CEOE president in Castilla-La Mancha, called young people "memos" for requesting mental health leaves. Garamendi distanced himself from these remarks and acknowledged real mental health problems among young people.
