​Speech by President of the Government at official opening of headquarters of General Treasury of Social Security and National Institute of Social Security in Segovia

Segovia

Mr President of the Regional Government of Castile and Leon, Madam Minister for Employment and Social Security, Madam Speaker of the Regional Parliament of Castile and Leon, Madam Government Representative, Madam Mayor of Segovia, councillor, public officials, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

It gives me great pleasure to be here in Segovia today for the formal inauguration of this integral headquarters of the regional Social Security office. This pleasure derives, in the first place, from the fact that any inauguration is not just one more commitment, but a commitment to the future and Social Security is a commitment to the future of one of the most highly rated institutions by the people of Spain which strengthens the ties of solidarity between us all.

I am talking, as the minister said just a moment ago, about solidarity between generations because, as you know, through their National Insurance contributions, those people who are in work are paying the pensions of those who receive this benefit, in the same way as they will receive them in the future from the contributions of future generations. And I am also talking, and the minister reminded us of this, about solidarity between regions, because the single Social Security fund guarantees the payment of pensions throughout Spain, regardless of where the contribution has been made.

Today is a good day for the Social Security system, and if only we would say this every day of every year because, as the minister reminded us in her speech, the unemployment and National Insurance contribution figures we saw announced this morning show that we are moving at a good pace towards our shared goal, which is to see 20 million people in work by the end of this legislature, thereby contributing to the Social Security system.

The figures are very good. This is the best ever March on record for employment: over 162,000 more National Insurance contributors; over 600,000 more than in March last year; the reduction in unemployment figures is also very significant - more than 10% in the last year - and, above all, there is a positive figure which encourages us to persevere in relation to the number of permanent employment contracts - up by 18% - and full-time permanent contracts - up by more than 20%.

These figures are excellent news for everyone - they are for those people who have found a job opportunity, and they are also good for those people who have a pension because, the more people paying into the Social Security system, the greater the possibilities we have for maintaining and improving our welfare system.

Having said that, it is not enough. These figures should not in any way allow us to become complacent and conformist. Quite simply, this must spur us on to continue meeting our targets and ensuring that the results are, if possible, even better than our targets. These figures should fill us with confidence and hope but, what this should definitely do is encourage us to work towards being able to do the same again and hence achieve similar figures in the future.

Dear friends,

The inauguration of these new headquarters is a first-rate public service for the people of Segovia; and it is also a wonderful opportunity to see the value of what the Spanish people, over the course of many years, have been able to build when we work together.

Nowadays, Spain has a modern Social Security system, with a level of cover seen in very few other countries, forming part of our social heritage that between us we must all guarantee.

There is no shortage of reasons to speak well about our country, about Spain, although there are some people obsessed with only pointing out those things that need to be improved; but Spain is one of the most advanced countries in the world, as you know. Added to which the Social Security system is assuredly one of the most important institutions in our country.

We have a system that is capable of paying more than 9.5 million pensions; that is capable of managing more than 40 different social benefits and a wide range of pensions; a system that has a model of minimum pensions that only exists in 11 of the 27 Member States of the European Union and that offers supplementary pensions for those who do not qualify to receive this minimum level of pension, a supplementary benefit that only exists in four other countries in Europe and yet which 2.5 million Spaniards qualify for. Our Social Security system has the second highest replacement rate of all OECD countries, at 80%, and found a way to start the recovery while paying out more pensions to more pensioners than ever before.

There is a figure that few are aware of and which shows the dimension of the effort that the Spanish people as a whole make in the area of pensions; the crisis that began in our country in 2007, among other bad effects that you are aware of, had one such effect that is still not sufficiently well-known - the loss of 70 billion euros in revenue. 70 billion euros less received by the Spanish public authorities and even now - when I say "now" I mean at the end of 2016 - the public authorities still do not collect the same level of revenue as at the end of 2007. At the end of this year however, 2017, the public authorities will receive the same revenue as 10 years ago.

So, while this prevailed, while we were collecting 70 billion euros less in revenue that we still haven't fully recovered, spending on pensions rose by 40 billion euros. And this country found a way to maintain this spending, with a rise of 40 billion euros while managing to also reduce the public deficit.

What conclusion can we take out of all this? That the key to maintaining this pension system and for an increasingly better system is undoubtedly that there are growing numbers of people in work in our country and that, hence, we are capable of implementing an economic policy that allows jobs to become a reality.

And right now I am optimistic. In 2011, which was a very tough year, as were 2012 and 2013, and the ones before these, for all the people of Spain, for every new pension that was granted, three jobs were shed; at present, for every new pension granted, six jobs are created. In other words, six new jobs are created at present to guarantee each new pension, when in the middle of the crisis we saw three jobs shed for every new pension.

So, that is the key for the future. Let's not kid ourselves, to the extent that we are capable of creating jobs, and it is society that creates this while the public authorities try to make people's lives easier, we will have the possibility of improving our pension system; to the extent that we are not able to do this, it will be more difficult to maintain.

What happens with the General State Budget is also very important. We approved the Budget at the Council of Ministers on Friday. The aim, with this Budget, is to make an effort to continue with the economic recovery. I believe that by the end of 2017 we will have recovered 2 million of the jobs that were shed during the crisis; in other words, there is still a long way to go. The unemployment rate will stand at 16.6%; at the worst time, which was back in January 2013, it stood at 26.9%, it has fallen by 10 points, but we must make it fall by another 10 points over the course of the next few years. And it is precisely the Budget that provides for six out of every 10 euros in social spending.

Dear friends, I will end now.

There is a path mapped out to achieve this figure of 20 million people in work during this legislature. It does not just depend on a government, or a regional government, or on five local councils; it depends on everyone. The government can do something - above all, implement an economic policy that provides facilities for investment and job creation - the regional governments as well; the local councils as well, but in the end, jobs are created by people, by society, by individuals, and what the public authorities do is make life easier for them.

And it is also very important that everyone knows what to do and how to contribute to our country. I would encourage also those public servants who work for the Social Security system, some of whom are here today and I thank you for your presence, to continue working. I believe that you are fortunate to work at one of the most prestigious institutions, as I said at the start, in Spain, and many things pass through your hands, among others, the wishes, the sentiments and, on many occasions, also the satisfaction of many Spanish people.

Thank you very much for being here and have a good day. Thank you.