On Tuesday, the Spanish government gave a green shortening of the normal working week from 40 hours to 37.5 hours. The Cabinet approved the draft law in agreement with the two largest trade unions in the country. TASR informs this based on the DPA report.
Employers’ organizations did not join the agreement as they left the negotiating table after months of unsuccessful talks. The government is also not certain in parliament that would support the proposal. “Reducing a working day will increase productivity in our country,” Socialist Minister of Labor Yolanda Diaz justified this step. “There is no point in spending hours at work, the point is to be effective,” she added. On the other hand, employers warn that a shorter working week will threaten the viability of some sectors.
The shortened working week, while maintaining full wage, would affect almost twelve million employees in the private sector, especially in retail, gastronomy and agriculture. A 37.5-hour working week is already valid in the public sector and large enterprises.
Shortening of the working week is the key pre -election promise of the left -wing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. However, his government does not have a majority in parliament. To adopt the law, he would need the approval of the Basque and Catalan nationalists, who, however, according to observers, are much more inclined to the business sector, DPA said.
