The Supreme Court endorses the right of trade union representatives to know the productivity of public administration personnel

In its pronouncements, the High Court underlines the constitutional relevance of the right of access to public information, noting that it “transcends its position as an objective guiding principle of the actions of public administrations, to constitute a constitutional right enforceable as a subjective right”.

The rulings state as jurisprudential doctrine that “the principle of remunerative transparency in public employment constitutes a manifestation of the democratic principle of accountability”, insofar as it allows citizens and, specifically, representatives of public employees, to exercise effective control over public spending. This control is based on the verification that the resources earmarked for remuneration are allocated in accordance with the law, under the principle of equality and with respect for objective criteria of merit and capacity, and that their management meets the efficiency requirements of good administration.

“This is particularly important when we refer to the remuneration associated with the concepts of productivity or performance, since its allocation and quantification requires scrupulous respect for a performance evaluation that is adapted to the requirements of transparency, objectivity, impartiality and non-discrimination,” argues the Court.

The Supreme Court also specifies that the status of public employee limits the scope of privacy with respect to professional data linked to the job and the administrative organization in which the service is provided. In particular, this limitation affects identifying data when it comes to access to individualized information of a remunerative nature, as happens with productivity complements and extraordinary bonuses.

In this sense, it concludes that access to this type of information should constitute, in general, the rule, prevailing the public interest that it represents against the possible indirect impact of the sphere of the personal data of public employees, insofar as such data are associated with the performance of public functions.

Finally, the High Court expressly recognises that trade union representatives have the right of access to public information regarding the amounts received by each official as a productivity supplement, thus strengthening the powers of control and surveillance inherent in the representation of workers in the public sector.

These resolutions consolidate the existing doctrine on transparency and access to information, strengthening the role of trade union representation as guarantor of the proper use of public resources and respect for the principles of equality, merit and capacity in the management of the remuneration of public personnel.

The Supreme Court thus estimates the appeals lodged by the Council for Transparency and Good Governance against the judgements handed down by the National High Court in respect of the contentious appeals of two ministries, thus confirming the decisions handed down by the Council recognizing the right of trade union representatives or workers ' representatives to have access to the productivities received by each official of those ministerial departments.