King Felipe of Spain has commemorated the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Economic and Social Council.
His Majesty arrived at the Economic and Social Council headquarters on Tuesday, 21st of September 2021. He was welcomed by the vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, and the President of the Economic and Social Council, Antón Costas.
King Felipe took part in a roundtable discussion titled “A democratic economic and social policy”, which was moderated by Mr Costas.
His Majesty then gave a speech, in which he congratulated the institution on the important milestone, and praised their work over the decades, shining a spotlight in particular on the key role they played in photographing the Spanish society during the global health emergency.
King Felipe then signed the guest book of the Institution, leaving a message of congratulations for their anniversary, before holding a meeting with all authorities taking part in the act.
The Economic and Social Council is an independent entity of the State that includes representatives from workers unions, businesses owners, the agricultural and food sector, social economy and also consumers and experts of various specialties.
Their job is to produce documents that paint a picture as accurate as is possible of Spanish society during the year they are writing about, as well as coming up with potential solutions in times of crisis.
Since the most recent global economic crisis, Spain has had issues providing jobs to everyone that needs them, something that His Majesty also remarked on in his speech.
King Felipe showed concerns over the impact the global shutdown had on the labour market in the country, and has called on the education sector to make a better effort to better train students for their entry on the job scene.
The Economic and Social Council is jurisdictionally independent, and is a consultation organ of the State on topics that concern labour, work and socioeconomic issues.
