Spain's dream of a shorter work week just got put on hold again
With strong opposition to the proposal, doubts have been cast over whether the working day in Spain will be reduced at all
There’s been a bit of a blow for employees throughout Spain as it looks increasingly unlikely that the legislation needed to reduce the official working week from 40 hours to 37.5 will be ready before the end of the year.
The Ministry of Labour announced this Tuesday July 15 that they're postponing the debate, originally scheduled to happen next week, until the next session after summer.
The main obstacle is Catalan political party Junts, which has been strenuously against the 2.5 hour reduction to the working week from the beginning. Their opposition threatens to derail the entire thing, making it very difficult for the regulation to be approved before the end of the year as originally proposed by the Ministry of Labour.
Junts has been particularly concerned about the impact on small businesses and self-employed workers in Catalonia. The negotiations have been stalled for months, despite continued talks between Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz and the Catalan party.
The Ministry says Junts want the law to "reflect all their demands" and believe "it must be an opportunity for SMEs."
That's going to take "time and continued work," apparently.
The latest bout of corruption scandals surrounding the PSOE in general and President Sanchez in particular isn’t helping matters. Ministry sources argue that if the working hours debate had gone ahead as planned, it would have turned into a referendum on the government instead.
In addition, Junts has explicitly requested more time to negotiate the measure.
The depth of Junts' opposition became clear in May when party spokesperson Míriam Nogueras delivered a harsh critique in Parliament. She stated that if it were up to her party, the reduction of the working day "will never see the light of day" because Catalonia is not "a nation of subsidies" or "lazy people."
"We Catalans are hard workers. Generation after generation has taught us what a culture of effort is, they have taught us to work, to think, to create, they have even taught us to move mountains, to earn a living," Ms Nogueras said, characterising the measure as "going around begging."
While the Ministry of Labour remains optimistic about eventually reaching an agreement with Junts, sources close to Vice President Díaz have begun preparing for potential failure. They've suggested that if the pro-independence parties reject the reduction, they will have to answer to their electorate.
These sources have even argued that "sometimes a parliamentary defeat is a political victory," framing any potential rejection as evidence that Ms Díaz defended the measure to the end.
For now, Spanish workers will have to wait longer for their hoped-for reduction in working hours, with the timeline becoming increasingly uncertain.
Image: Freepik
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