The new Labour Act (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015) of the 23rd October, approved by the Government, will enter into force twenty days after its publication in the Spanish Official Bulletin (24th October).

The Minister of Employment and Social Security presented this new Act as a necessity due to the countless amendments to which the current Act has been subject. The current Act was approved in March 1980 and since its first recast, in 1995, it has suffered over 50 amendments. The Government has intended to update the legislative technique, modernise and unify the language, avoiding discrepancies that had emerged. Therefore, it is not a substantial reform of the current regime, but a rearrangement, modernisation, clarification and unification of such. The new Act maintains the 92 provisions that shape the current text, being the final provisions those that have suffered a more sensitive rearrangement.

The new Act (Art. 2) maintains amongst the special labour relations the one regarding port stevedores who work for the former State Stevedoring Companies (Sociedades Anónimas de Gestión de Estibadores Portuarios, hereinafter “SAGEP”).

“The following shall be considered as special labour relations:
(…)
h) That of the port stevedores who render services through the entities that make workers available to the companies holding the licenses for cargo handling services in the port, as long as those companies only operate in the port area.”

As it is known, this is a sensitive matter, particularly after the de Judgment dated December 11th, 2014 of the EU Court of Justice (Chamber nº 6), establishing the infringement by the Kingdom of Spain of its obligations arising of the Rome Treaty, in the following terms:

“Declare that the Kingdom of Spain has infringed its obligations regarding article 49 of the TFEU, by imposing companies of other member States that wish to develop their activity of cargo manipulation in Spanish ports of general interest the obligation of registration in a Anonym Society of Management of Stevedores and, where appropriate, the obligation of participation in their capital, in one way, by being obliged to primary hire workers made available by such Anonym Society, and, in another way, to hire a minimum of such worker in permanent basis.”

Thus, it may be expected that the above legal provision is modified according to the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the affected sectors in Spain, that will have to culminate with a legislative solution which satisfies the EU Court of Justice’s Judgment. In the meanwhile, the SAGEPs will continue to exist and it relation with stevedores rendering services for them, will fall under Art. 2 of the new Act.

In general, the new Act will not have retroactive effectiveness (First Transitory Disposition) and, not existing a specific disposition regarding its coming into force, the general rule established in the Civil Code will be of application; that is, the Act will come into force twenty days after its publication in the Official Bulletin of the State, which has taken place on October 24th, 2015.