Pandemic pushes Spanish workers out of the shadows

By Belén Carreño and Gavin Jones MADRID/ROME (Reuters) – For decades, a cash-filled envelope – or “sobre” – was how hundreds of thousands of Spaniards working without legal contracts in tourism, agriculture or construction collected their salaries. COVID-19, however, may finally be putting paid to the “sobre”, economic data and workers’ experiences suggest – accelerating a six-year-long crackdown in Spain on the shadow economy and providing a welcome boost to the country’s public finances. The Spanish economy was the hardest hit in the euro area by the pandemic, shrinking 11% in 2020 amid toug…

Read More