The "armored castle" that the SEPE has become for humans

"It feels like there's a mirror between them, the SEPE (State Public Employment Service) employees, and us, on the other side." In fact, there's now a yellow line separating the two in the offices. "The SEPE is like an armored castle, with an insurmountable wall. You can't jump over and approach someone for help; everything is a barrier." " We're invisible. Some workers pass by you in the hallways, some with a coffee, others with papers or bottles of water, and they don't even look at you; it's as if we weren't there." But they are.

Despite the many complaints about poor treatment of users within the employment system , some are still surprising. We hadn't stopped to consider what it means for an unemployed foreigner to go through a "bureaucratic ordeal just to request permission to travel to their country and visit a sick relative." This is the case of Iwona.

All of the above assertions pertain to her. They are also part of a trail of complaints from users of a service boasted about by the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, the department to which it is attached, and which is clearly dehumanized. Not only are complaints piling up regarding the deficient nature of the service in terms of its limited staff, the lack of replacement of public employees close to retirement, the chaotic appointment management, and the incomprehensible operation of the website and online procedures, which are now 100% operational for many people, especially the elderly. But an image of an inaccessible windmill for the common man is beginning to form, one that is not worth fighting against.

Iwona Zielinska is a 59-year-old woman with more than 30 years of social security contributions in Spain. She has lived here since 1991. She has worked in public relations and at the Polish Institute of Culture, promoting her country in Spain. She retains Polish nationality, but is unemployed in Alpedrete (Madrid) and has been renewing her unemployment benefits for a year and a half. In short, she has had to resort to the Employment Service on more than one occasion. But, as she writes in a letter complaining about the service, last year she processed the permit to leave for two weeks, as is required for all unemployed people, without much problem. The only drawback was that it was necessarily done the day before the trip, she says.

This year, to her astonishment and that of everyone like her who visited the Collado-Villalba municipal office (Madrid) on June 30th, "the service is even worse. The protocol was changed a month ago, and all forms that cause problems or complaints must be submitted by certified mail." Zielinska's father is ill with cancer. Foreigners must inform the SEPE (Spanish State Employment Service) that they plan to travel or use their fifteen days of vacation for personal or family reasons, as is her case. Right now, Iwona feels like she's "in limbo," she admits on the phone: "I don't even know what to do." She doesn't know if (or when) she'll be able to travel to be with her family or be stuck waiting for a response from the SEPE (Spanish State Employment Service) to her request.

And her latest experience gives an idea of ​​the secrecy of the service and how poorly it works. "It was surreal." It's not just the slowness of its operation. "You can only go to the office with an appointment, which, when you make it, they give you a long time in advance; but when I arrived, a very polite guy started giving instructions on how to proceed in the application. Like a teacher in an impromptu classroom. Every user wants something. I wanted a travel permit. I made a mistake; without understanding what I was doing, I ended up applying for unemployment benefits again because you only see the option to register and deregister." When I made a mistake, she continued, "the guy told me he would consult with an official, but no one wanted to come out. I asked for the office manager, and the security guard replied that he was busy. The solution he gave me (he made a serious face) was to send a letter explaining my mistake by registered mail to the office where I was. I was there after several hours!" I complained, but there was nothing I could do. I went home and went to the post office to send that letter and sit and wait. I just wanted to see my family; I just needed a stamp.

While this was happening, dozens of people at the same SEPE office were stranded that day, unable to complete their required applications. "Once at another office, they told me we shouldn't even have vacation time; that we unemployed people are already on vacation," Iwona recalls. "The impression I have is that before going to the Administration, you have to prepare like you're for an exam," she shares.

The SEPE (Spanish Social Security System) has become a waste of time, patience, and opportunity that citizens still don't understand. They see it as a failed assistance model that, far from helping, further destabilizes the person in need of services. " In my country, it works better ; the treatment is humane and personalized. It's easier, and there are methods to ensure the unemployed don't have to spend their lives shuffling between officials and forms. Here, you see people lost; it's very complicated, opaque, and chaotic," Iwona complains.

To top it all off, to complain that electronic procedures aren't working, you have to fill out another form : " To complain to the SEPE, please do so through the Ministry's Central Electronic Office by accessing the Complaints and Suggestions section." An endless inbox. Until when?