La gobernanza europea y el retroceso de los derechos laborales en España

Abstract

This research addresses the relationship between European economic governance and the decline of labor rights in Spain during the economic and employment crisis that began in 2008, particularly in the 2012 Reform. It considers that the governance process, which has a neoliberal bias, promoters policies favorable to the interests of capital, and restrictive to the labor sphere. It also stresses of capital, and restictivs to the labor sphere. It also stresses that this process has a democratic deficit because it lacks sufficient democratic guarantees and mechanisms to ensure a balance of interests between different social groups. This deficit makes it posible for the neoliberal order to be hegemonic in governance, and to promote policies more favorable to capital than to labor. The labor reform demanded by the EU to Spain, to face the crisis, and receive financial support, is a paradigmatic example of the direct impact of European governance on the labor market. The crisis was only a window of opportunity to apply neoliberal biased policies and restrict labor rights. This research questions the dominant discourse that advocated the absence of alternative policies to those applied during the crisis. It proposes reforms in the EU, and in Spain, aimed at reducing the democratic deficit and promoting sustainable economic activity. The aim is to promote economic stability and quality employment.