Spain keen to shave 2.5 hours off working week

Workers in Spain could soon be toiling for fewer hours each week but still earning the same salary, thanks to legislation being championed by the country's minority leftist government.

The legislation, which major unions the Workers' Commissions and the General Union of Workers have described as a historic, could benefit 12 million workers in the agriculture, services, and hospitality sectors, slashing their working week from 40 hours to 37.5 hours. Public-sector employees and those at large companies already work a 37.5-hour week.

The country's main employers' group has criticized the proposed change, saying it would be disastrous for the nation's economy. Spain's central bank and one of its former economy ministers have also opposed it, saying it would lead to higher labor costs that would fuel inflation and damage an unemployment rate at a 16-year low.

But Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz, who leads the hard-left Sumar party, described the legislation, which began its journey through parliament on Tuesday, as a game-changer, saying: "Today is a day when it is worth being part of the Spanish government, and it is a historic day. It is not just another economic variable, but a project for the country and a measure to modernize Spain."

Diaz, who is also deputy prime minister, said after the country's Cabinet approved a debate on the proposed legislation that it would be the first reduction in the working week for many people for 40 years.

But the Spanish Broadcasting Corporation quoted the country's main employers' organization, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations, or CEOE, as saying any reduction in working hours should be done slowly, and through collective bargaining with trade unions, because a sudden change would put a massive strain on small enterprises and the self-employed.

Reuters quoted Antonio Garamendi, president of the CEOE, as saying: "The corporate world is in favor of dialogue, but not in favor of monologue."

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez countered by saying many workers, especially women, who would benefit from the proposed law change are not represented by unions.

Sanchez's government will need the support of other political parties if the legislation is to pass when it is debated, likely at the end of February or in early March. The center-right Catalan party Junts has already said it will oppose it, as have two pro-business parties.

A reduction in working hours by the end of 2025 has been a key aim of Sanchez's administration and was a condition the Sumar party placed on joining the Socialists in a coalition government.