This judicial decision, accessed by Europa Press, upholds the claim filed by the Independent and Civil Servants Trade Union (CSIF) and declares the nullity of Article 118 of the VIII Regional Collective Labor Agreement for Centers, Entities, and Services for People with Disabilities in the Valencian Community.
The union challenged the aforementioned regional article because it stipulated that, in cases of temporary incapacity (IT), employees of Special Employment Centers would only receive 75% of their salary. This condition contrasted with the national agreement, which in many cases recognizes 100% of the salary in similar situations.
The national agreement organizes the entire negotiation system for the sector, sets rules on what can be negotiated, and establishes mandatory minimums. That is, it acts as a common floor for the entire sector.
The court reviewed the appeal and sided with CSIF, considering that a regional agreement cannot establish salary conditions inferior to those set by a national agreement. The chamber emphasized that regional agreements have limits and, although they can negotiate, they must respect national minimums and only prevail if they are more favorable. In this case, a clear reduction of rights was observed.
Furthermore, the chamber noted that this salary reduction was applied exclusively to Special Employment Centers, where at least 70% of the workers have a disability. This situation implied that workers with disabilities received less salary during sick leave than other employees in the same sector.
Therefore, the court identified indirect discrimination based on disability, as argued by CSIF, and even discrimination by association regarding non-disabled workers in these centers. In summary, the TSJCV concludes that the regional agreement cannot lower what is established by the national one, that the challenged article is contrary to the legal system of agreements, and that, moreover, it creates a discriminatory situation.
