Today, FCC, the General Union of Workers and Comisiones Obreras signed an Equality Plan, in force through 31 December 2012; it will be applied in all workplaces of the Environment division of FCC Services throughout Spain, as well as in all of this division's subsidiaries.

This Equality Plan was negotiated and signed with Spain's leading labour unions, under the Equality Law that was enacted last year; the plan consists of a "structured set of measures which will truly and effectively pave the way for the achievement overall, and in each individual company, of the objectives of equal treatment and opportunities for men and women, and eliminate any trace of gender discrimination".

The Chairman and CEO of FCC, Baldomero Falcones, and the Chairman of the Services area, José Luis de la Torre, signed on behalf of the company. On behalf of UGT, the agreement was signed by Julio Lacuerda Castelló, General Secretary of the Federation of Public Services Workers, and Juan Sánchez Fernández, General Secretary of the State Federation of Service Workers; on behalf of CCOO, it was signed by Jesús Antonio Fernández Béjar, Secretary General of the Federation of Diverse Activity Workers.

Through this agreement, FCC aims to help raise awareness about, protect and enhance employees' individual rights. Specifically, it aims to safeguard employees' dignity within the workplace, establish healthy behaviour patterns and eliminate any conduct that can be considered an illegitimate infringement on a person's privacy or dignity.

The specific goals of the Equality Plan are:

• To promote the effective defence and application of the principle of equality among men and women, guaranteeing the same opportunities for income and professional development in the workplace at all levels.
• To improve the gender balance within the scope of the Plan.
• To promote and improve women's opportunities to attain positions of responsibility, helping reduce inequalities or imbalances that may arise in FCC, regardless of their historical, cultural, social or family roots.
• To prevent discrimination in employment on the basis of gender, establishing a protocol for action in such cases.
• To reinforce the Group's commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, with a view to improving living standards for employees and their families, and promoting equal opportunities.
• To establish guidelines to exclude any measures that might jeopardise the work-life balance of FCC workers.
• To guarantee equal access for men and women to company training, for the purposes of enhancing professional development and promotion.

The following areas of action have been identified with a view to achieving these objectives: access to employment, promotion, training, remuneration, work-life balance, measures to prevent and correct discrimination, and prevention of gender harassment, including a specific protocol to report and investigate cases.