A split in Spain’s left-wing coalition government over a plan to implement a shorter working week with the same pay was thrown wide open on Friday (3), after the country’s labor minister accused the economy minister of “stand by employers”.
Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, who leads the far-left Sumar party, told state radio station RNE that there are “manifest disagreements” with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party over the plan and called on her colleagues that “respect the committee of experts” that prepared it.
She took aim at Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo, who suggested the plan be delayed by a year to give small businesses time to adapt.
Cuerpo “must decide which side he is on, whether on the side of the workers of this country, who are asking to live a little better, or on the side of the employers,” he said.
A source at Spain’s Economy Ministry said the government remained committed to the plan and that its implementation was “a priority.”
“We must continue to invest in an economic policy that works and that guarantees the sustainability of our economic and social achievements,” added the source.
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Spain was one of Europe’s best-performing economic countries last year, with growth driven by a boom in tourism, immigration and a strengthening job market.
Diaz, who is also deputy prime minister, has made the plan to reduce working hours the centerpiece of her party’s support for Sánchez’s minority government.
Its goal is to reduce working hours to 37.5 per week from the current 40 hours, with no change in salary, before the end of 2025.
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Spain’s Central Bank and a former economy minister warned that higher labor costs could fuel inflation and reduce job creation.
Companies also expressed their concern. Spain’s main employers’ association, CEOE, argues that a shorter working week should not be imposed by law, but through collective bargaining, with each company able to adapt it to its specific needs.
