The Ministry of Social Security, led by Elma Saiz, undertakes to “evaluate” the data it provides to companies to “guarantee” the right to data protection of workers on sick leave due to abortion and painful periods. Following the publication by elDiario.es that Social Security provides data that allows companies to know the reason for these “special” medical leaves, and the requests from a multitude of actors for a correction, the Ministry maintains that it will “evaluate” this procedure , responds to this medium.
From Saiz’s department they indicate that “it is a very complex technical issue”, but they reiterate that “it will be evaluated.” The Ministry recalls that the “special” temporary disabilities affected by this data leak (due to painful periods, abortion and end of pregnancy), approved in the Abortion Law of the last legislature, represented an “advance in rights”, since that have reinforced social protection compared to the rest of sick leave due to common illness. For example, the financial benefit is received from the first day and not from the fourth.
However, when processing these protection improvements with companies, it communicates codes that allow companies to know the cause of absences. As happened to Silvia, a worker whose company received a report from the agency that told her bosses that she had had an abortion. “I felt like the most vulnerable person in the world,” the worker explained to this medium.
Sources from the Ministry of Social Security tell elDiario.es that in recent months, “being aware of the sensitivity of the matter, and within its limited powers, the INSS has already reduced the information provided to companies.” In any case, they add that “Social Security is committed to the continuous evaluation of its procedures so that these rights [protección de datos] are always guaranteed.”
Many groups ask for an “urgent” correction
The Galician union CIG has been waiting for this review of the procedure for almost a year, when it learned of this leak of the causes of the “special” IT as a result of Silvia’s case. The union organization now insists on its demand for an “urgent” correction to what it denounced as a violation of the data protection and privacy of the workers before the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD). The agency has confirmed to elDiario.es that it is investigating the case, which it admitted to processing last February.
They also asked for a change months ago in the Galician nationalist party BNG, by Senator Carme da Silva. In May, it received a response from the Ministry of Social Security that it was “working on recasting the codes into a single code to minimize the indicated effect, thus preventing companies from identifying the specific special IT situation in question within of all existing special situations.”
Elma Saiz’s department explains that it acted on these requests. “The information provided to companies has been reduced, merging as much as possible the codes of situations that have common characteristics” in the file that companies access. However, there is no “single code” for all special TRs, and the causes can still be identified: there is one for painful periods and another for abortion and the 39th week of pregnancy (which are easily distinguishable). Additionally, there is another code for COVID.
As a result of the information published by elDiario.es about this “hole” in the communication of the causes of medical leave, many groups have joined in requesting a correction from the Ministry of Social Security. For example, the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (Semfyc), from which a spokesperson has assured that health professionals were completely unaware of this communication to companies.
Also women’s associations, such as the Association of Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Catalonia and also Sedra-Federation of State Family Planning. “We ask that it be fixed immediately, it is unacceptable. The rights of workers must also protect women in this confidentiality of their health data during sick leave. Furthermore, this represents a double offense: the exposure of women’s privacy can lead to judgment and stigmatization, and even to consequences at the workplace level,” says Raquel Hurtado, deputy director and spokesperson for Sedra.
The leaders of the majority unions (CCOO and UGT), Unai Sordo and Pepe Álvarez, have also demanded this week that Social Security review its procedures. “We have sent a letter to the minister asking for a correction,” they explain in the union led by Pepe Álvarez. In the Equality areas of both unions they explained that they had already warned the Government of the risk of the reasons for the withdrawals being leaked, during the period of preparation of the Abortion Law.
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