Social aid and sustainable development for coal mining areas

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. It creates social aid for older workers at coal companies included in the Closure Plan. It guarantees 72 percent of the average monthly gross ordinary salary, with reductions of 10 to 2 percent if only 20 to 24 years of work are proven.
2. It establishes aid through voluntary compensated departures. The payment is a fixed amount of €10,000 plus 35 days of salary per year worked, capped at 30 monthly payments.
3. It amends Royal Decree 676/2014 to extend its validity until 2025 and clarify how the guaranteed 72 percent is calculated. It also gives surplus workers the right to the contributory unemployment benefit for the maximum legal period.
4. It amends Royal Decree 675/2014 on aid to boost the economy of coal mining areas. Infrastructure and restoration projects may be annual or multi-year, with a deadline to grant the aid of December 31, 2023.
5. It regulates the situation of workers with reviewable permanent disability and creates a voluntary job pool for coal mining surplus workers, managed by the Institute for the Restructuring of Coal Mining.
6. It sets transitional rules for contract terminations and ongoing procedures, extends for two years the agreements under the 2013-2018 Action Framework, and allocates revenue from greenhouse gas emission allowance auctions to fund the electricity system and a just transition in 2019.

Who it affects

• Workers at coal companies included in the Closure Plan: They can access social aid for older workers, voluntary compensated departures, or unemployment benefits for the maximum legal period.
• Coal mining companies: They can apply for aid to cover workforce reduction costs and must report data about their workers.
• Coal mining areas: They receive aid for infrastructure projects and restoration of degraded land.
• Workers with reviewable permanent disability and mining surplus workers: They can request aid as mining surplus workers or join the voluntary job pool with training courses.

Words worth knowing

Plan de Cierre (Closure Plan)

Plan approved by the European Commission to close non-competitive coal mines in an orderly way.

Prestación contributiva por desempleo (contributory unemployment benefit)

Payment from Social Security for people who lose their job and have paid contributions before.

Incapacidad permanente revisable (reviewable permanent disability)

Official recognition that a person cannot work, which can be reviewed and allow their return to the company.

Excedente de la minería del carbón (coal mining surplus worker)

Worker who loses their job because of mine closures and has the right to special benefits.

Real decreto-ley (royal decree-law)

Rule with the rank of law that the Government can pass urgently in extraordinary situations.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries