Labour inspection after the civil war in Spain. Regulatory interventionism and abstentionist labour inspection performance

ABSTRACTThis paper focuses on something not previously addressed by the literature, labour inspection in Spain in the first decades of the Franco dictatorship. Despite the Franco dictatorship’s fascist-style approach of regulatory interventionism, this research shows a relapse into an abstentionist conception of labour inspection that led to worker vulnerability. The study has not only found, as was already known, normative similarities with the contemporaneous Italian and German dictatorships, but also similar (although more severe) limitations to the functioning of the inspection service. The slight improvement registered from 1947 onwards and the effort to achieve a limited equivalence with Western democracies also failed to notably improve working conditions, occupational safety and worker protection. The Labour Inspectorate suffered from understaffing and a lack of resources up to the very end of the dictatorship, something which the incipient democracy then inherited. These human and material resource shortages continue to be a problem and are currently debated in Spain.KEYWORDS: FascismFrancoismindustrial relationslabour inspectoratelabour institutionsSpain AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank Professor Richard Croucher his helpful suggestions and comments at the beginning of this research. His whole work will always be a source of inspiration in the field of industrial relations.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1. Archivo de Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria y Navegación de Sevilla (AGCOCISNS. CÁMARA) 109, 111, 136 and 199.2. Servicio Central de Inspección del Ministerio de Trabajo, Memorias Estadística de la Labor Realizada por el Cuerpo Nacional de Inspectores de Trabajo, 1943–1956. Madrid: Ministerio de Trabajo.3. Archivo Histórico del Ministerio de Trabajo, 199.360–199.392, 198.725–198.730.4. AGCOCISNS. CÁMARA, 109.5. Servicio de Inspección de Trabajo, Nómina, escalafón y escalas de la Inspección de Trabajo en 1974. Madrid: Ministerio de Trabajo.Additional informationFundingThe author received financial support for the research for the research project Los Determinantes Institucionales del Funcionamiento del Mercado de Trabajo en España (1939–2017). Un Estudio en Perspectiva Comparada en el Marco de la Europa del Sur (Ref.: RTI2018-099188-A-I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/and FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa.Notes on contributorsMarcial Sánchez-MosqueraMarcial Sánchez-Mosquera is an associate professor at the University of Seville. He holds a PhD in Applied Economic Analysis and History and Economic Institutions. His research interests include economic history, economic and labour institutions, labour market, social dialogue, and social and economic actors. He has published the results of his research in European Journal of Industrial Relations, Economic and Industrial Democracy, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, Revista de Historia Industrial/Industrial History Review and Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales, among others.