Financial TimesFinancial Times

How Spain has taken on the problem of precarious work

By Sarah O'Connor

04 Apr 2023 · 3 min read

Editor's Note

Spain has long been the poster child for precarious work, but now it's trying to change all that. The remarkable success it's had so far could inspire other European countries, according to the FT.

Europe’s workers are famously well-protected by rights and regulations, but the continent’s dirty secret is that they don’t extend to everyone. Countries such as France, Spain, Italy and Portugal have long had insulated insiders who are hard to fire and insecure outsiders who churn from one temporary contract to the next. Inevitably, the young have been most likely to get stuck on the outside: 37 per cent of the eurozone’s under-30s workers are on temporary contracts.

But now Spain — the poster child for precarious work — is trying to put a stop to all that. And so far, its efforts look remarkably successful.

Sign in to informed

  • Curated articles from premium publishers, ad-free
  • Concise Daily Briefs with quick-read summaries
  • Read, listen, save for later, or enjoy offline
  • Enjoy personalized content
Or

LoginForm.agreeToTerms