Spain's temporary public workers face mortgage barriers

Spain's temporary public workers face mortgage barriers

In July 2024, the Government had not yet fulfilled its promise to reduce public sector temporality to 8%. Available data showed that Public Administrations maintained nearly 30% temporary workers, with sectors like Education approaching 40%. The paradox is well-known: the private sector records a temporality rate of 14%, less than half that of the public sector. The Executive committed to reducing interim positions trinc a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, but the reality is that thousands of interinos accumulate up to 14 years chaining temporary contracts.

The testimony that sums up the problem

"I have been an interino in a court for almost 14 years; I already reported my situation in 2018 and they ignored me," says J. A. R., who prefers to remain anonymous for antiestéticar of retaliation. His case is not isolated. At 42 years old, he cannot apply for a mortgage or establish a fixed place of residence. "Living like this conditions you on all fronts," he adds. Precarity is not only economic: it is vital.

M. G., with 10 years as an interina in the Justice field, points out another dimension of the problem: "Interinos are afraid to say no." Work overload, unpaid overtime, and the demand for a level of knowledge that does not correspond to their category are commonplace. For years, civil service exams were frozen. Now they are called, but combining study with precarious work is an obstacle course.

The complaint that indignates: 'A recent graduate overtakes you'

"A recent graduate comes, who doesn't have to work but only study, and overtakes you on the right," criticizes J. A. R. This phrase, which titles this analysis, condenses the resentment of a generation of interinos who feel trapped. The system rewards those who can dedicate themselves exclusively to studying, while those who have been working for years do not have time or energy to prepare for a civil service exam.

O. S., an interina at the University since 2017, explains it clearly: "You have to work, study, and balance if you have a family. Without a fixed position, you have to apply to all calls because if you don't apply and fail, you're out." In Education, temporality approaches 40%, one of the most affected sectors. "Interinos and labor staff have the base salary, but I cannot be head of service. I cannot promote and they can change my destination," she adds. "They can fire me at any moment."

The emergency solution: joining a program

L. M., an interina at the Generalitat Valenciana since 2018, offers a more pragmatic vision. "Within the bad, I don't complain. My luck is that, since I always get good grades in exams, I can always choose and I have been getting closer to my home," she recounts. Her recommendation is clear: "Today, as an interino, the best option is to join a program." These programs, funded by European funds, guarantee three years of stability, extendable by one more.

But not everyone has that luck. Another worker from the Generalitat de Catalunya, who was left out of mass regularization, says: "During stabilization, they didn't give me the position." She has been an interina for 13 years and her civil service exam was canceled. In those that counted, she failed by half a point.

The legal fraud nobody wants to see

The legislation is clear: structural jobs must be filled within a maximum of three years by permanent staff or abolished. However, reality shows one third of total public employees as temporary. "Keeping a person for 14 years with an interino contract is fraud," argues a recurring analysis. Responsibility does not lie only with interinos, but with administrations that perpetuate this situation.

Some defend that interinos enter through connections and then regularize with a trivial exam. Others argue that career civil servants themselves, from the courts, unfairly fail candidates to maintain the interim system. Reality is more complex: according to a participant, in the Valencian Community, more than 60% of applicants who pass a selection process request voluntary leave to continue as interinos in better positions. A domino effect that evidences the cracks in the system.

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The promise to reduce temporality to 8% remains unfulfilled. Interinos continue trapped in an administrative limbo that prevents them from applying for a mortgage, starting a family, or planning their lives. The question is not whether the system is broken, but why nobody fixes it.