article_detail

It looked like a sure thing, but the Labour minister’s plans to slash the working week in Spain have been squashed as even politicians who initially favoured the move withdrew their backing on Wednesday September 10.

 

The Spanish government, particularly Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz, has been pushing the reduction for almost two years but it was completely derailed this week by vetoes from Junts, the PP and Vox. The failure of her flagship measure for this term leaves 12.4 million workers without reduced hours and will save companies, according to employers' association estimates, a cost of €23 billion.

 

According to estimates by the Ministry of Labour when the draft bill to reduce working hours was approved, there were 10.5 million workers in Spain with full-time contracts who could benefit from the measure. Meanwhile, around two million part-time employees, mostly women as it happens, would see their wages increased by reducing the maximum working hours to which their contracts are tied.

 

More than half of the workers who would have benefited from a reduction in working hours like the one the government was seeking are spread across four major sectors: commerce, manufacturing, hospitality and construction. In these industries, collective bargaining agreements still typically stipulate work weeks exceeding 37.5 hours, which is why the government sought to modify the statutory maximum working week.

 

Reducing the working day to 37.5 hours per week would have meant, on average nationwide, 48 fewer minutes of work per week (a 2.1% cut). However, in some sectors with particularly long working hours, such as hospitality, information and communications, retail and agriculture, staff would have cut their hours by more than 4%.

 

The failure to pass the law keeps Spain in the middle of the European league in terms of working hours. According to Eurostat data, the average working week in Spain is 36.4 hours (including part-time workers). This is longer than in Italy (36.1); France (35.8); Germany (34); Finland (34.9); Belgium (34.5); Austria (33.9); Denmark (33.9); and the Netherlands (32.1).

 

However, if we look only at full-time contracts, the average working day stands at 38.9 hours. This figure is very similar to the European average, the same as that of Germany, practically identical to that of Italy (38.8) and slightly higher than that of France (38.3). Within the EU, only Belgium (37.8), the Netherlands (37.6) and Finland (37.2) come close to 37.5 hours.

 

Naturally, employees welcomed the idea of a shorter week for the same money, but the move has been strenuously opposed by many businesses from the outset. The employers’ association has been its most vocal detractor and this organisation has been putting pressure on political parties to veto the proposal.

 

Cepyme, the CEOE chapter dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises, estimated that the reduction would end up costing SMEs €13.9 billion, alongside another €19.9 billion in indirect costs due to decreased production.

 

But the Labour Minister is far from giving up. While she feels the veto is a “slap in the face”, Ms Díaz is adamant that the change is something most ordinary working people want.

 

She insisted that even though the reduction in working hours hasn’t happened today, "it will happen tomorrow," because it's a measure that has already been "won" in the streets. "Today we will lose the vote, but tomorrow this debate will move forward ," Ms Díaz said.

 

Image: Archive