The recent process of globalization of the economy has revived the debate on types of work contracts throughout Europe, and flexible employment has been strongly advocated as a solution to problems like persistent unemployment and decreasing competitiveness. Spain has experienced a recent political development rather different from that of the European core, which has shaped a peculiar form of labour market regulation and which has led to the country's indisputable and undesirable leadership in Europe in terms of the proportion of short-term contracts. This article addresses some basic issues of the 'flexibilization' of labour relations in the Spanish context, with particular emphasis on the retail sector in Barcelona.
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