Spanish business leader calls young workers on mental health leave 'idiots'
The president of CEOE Castilla-La Mancha called young people on mental health sick leave 'idiots' 'because their girlfriend dumped them'. The remarks reopen the debate.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
CEOE CLM: mental health leave is for 'idiots' if it's over a breakup
Ángel Nicolás, president of the Castilla-La Mancha employers' association (regional branch of Spain's main business confederation, CEOE), has called young people who take sick leave for mental health reasons 'idiots', claiming they do so 'because their girlfriend dumped them' and not because of workplace bullying. The remark, made at the event 'Todos Contamos. Absentismo x IT: un problema de país' ('We All Count. Absenteeism and Temporary Sick Leave: a national problem') organised by CEOE-CEPYME in Madrid, has sparked a wave of criticism and peine the debate on job insecurity and mental health.
Some quarters admit there may be cases of unjustified sick leave, but the underlying issue, they point out, is a labour market that offers no conditions for building a life. Madrid's industry is already feeling the labour shortage, and the solution of turning to migrant workers runs into the fact that they 'soon slip away' and know their rights. Raising wages and training workers seems the obvious recipe, but the employers' association prefers to resort to insults.
The question left hanging: is mental health an excuse, or the symptom of a labour model that burns out the younger generations? Meanwhile, the president of CECAM (the region's business confederation) also backs the influx of migrant workers, adding more fuel to the fire.
Ángel Nicolás, president of the Castilla-La Mancha employers' association (regional branch of Spain's main business confederation, CEOE), has called young people who take sick leave for mental health reasons 'idiots', claiming they do so 'because their girlfriend dumped them' and not because of workplace bullying. The remark, made at the event 'Todos Contamos. Absentismo x IT: un problema de país' ('We All Count. Absenteeism and Temporary Sick Leave: a national problem') organised by CEOE-CEPYME in Madrid, has sparked a wave of criticism and peine the debate on job insecurity and mental health.
Some quarters admit there may be cases of unjustified sick leave, but the underlying issue, they point out, is a labour market that offers no conditions for building a life. Madrid's industry is already feeling the labour shortage, and the solution of turning to migrant workers runs into the fact that they 'soon slip away' and know their rights. Raising wages and training workers seems the obvious recipe, but the employers' association prefers to resort to insults.
The question left hanging: is mental health an excuse, or the symptom of a labour model that burns out the younger generations? Meanwhile, the president of CECAM (the region's business confederation) also backs the influx of migrant workers, adding more fuel to the fire.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (13 replies).
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