RTVE facilities in Prado del Rey in Madrid. (RTVE)
RTVE has opened a new judicial front, which adds to the recent controversy over the annulment of the latest oppositions after it became public that the questions had been leaked. Public radio and television has hired 1.080.000 euros to a private company to litigate against Social Security. That is, two State agencies facing each other in court. And Spanish RTVE claims 5.4 million euros to Social Security for sick leave benefits during the pandemic that RTVE paid and which RTVE understands should be borne by the Social Security coffers.
The matter has even reached Congress. The PP has asked the Government if it had hired the firm Fiabilis Consultinga company specialized “in optimizing social costs”, to try to recover advance payments by the Corporation to its workers on sick leave due to the coronavirus. consulted by Infobae Spaina spokesperson for RTVE limits itself to the response it gave to the popular ones: “The legal assistance contracted is intended to claim the reimbursement of 5.4 million euros paid by RTVE from March 2020 to July 2023 to workers at its centers. of Madrid and Barcelona in terms of benefits for temporary disability.” There is no data on how many workers may have been affected.
RTVE bases its claim on article 5 of ‘Royal Decree-Law 6/2020, of March 10, which adopts certain urgent measures in the economic field and for the protection of public health’, which was approved when the hardest part of the pandemic began. This article considers, “on an exceptional basis”, situation assimilated to a work accident“exclusively for the economic benefit of temporary disability from the Social Security system”, those periods of isolation or contagion of workers caused by covid.
The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration of Spain, Elma Saiz Delgado (EFE/ Ricardo Maldonado Rozo)
RTVE union sources explain to this newspaper that, by law, the first fifteen days of sick leave The remuneration received by the worker is borne by the company, and from the sixteenth day onwards, Social Security pays. “But many radio and television colleagues who have had persistent covid and have been off work for many days, the disability benefit has been paid in full by RTVE, when part of this benefit should have been paid by Social Security. “This is what is being demanded now.”
One of the arguments put forward by RTVE to hire Fiabilis is that the company “knows how the Social Security agencies have acted in their relationship with companies in situations of assimilation of work accidents due to isolation, contagion or exit restriction such as consequence of covid.” That is to say, it was a frequent norm that The Administration will allocate to companies the amounts of benefits for temporary disability derived from the previous situations as if they were true work accidents, thus generating “improper” charges. The objective of Fiabilis Consulting is to “represent and defend RTVE both administratively and judicially in all its instances and resources, before the National Institute of Social Security, the General Treasury of Social Security, the Mutual Fraternity Muprespa and “how many other responsible subjects are deemed necessary.” This newspaper has tried to speak with a spokesperson for this company to explain the work it is going to carry out. Has not received a response.
RTVE has been forced to rely on external legal assistance, “specialized, complex and multidisciplinary” because it does not have its own resources to undertake the task. “The RTVE Legal Advisory Directorate cannot address this work due to the enormous workload it assumes and considering that the Litigation Directorate is vacant.” Furthermore, the “State Attorney cannot represent and defend RTVE in this matter.” given the existence of a conflict of interest”. It must be taken into account that a public entity is going to sue another State entity. RTVE’s objective is to recover 100% of what it considers it is owed and pay 20% of that amount to Fiabilis if he is successful in his work.
