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The Spanish Government approves a reduction in the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours, the first reduction since 1983.
This measure will benefit 12.5 million workers, of whom 10.5 million are full-time and 2 million are part-time.
Breaking it down by sectors, more than half of the beneficiaries are concentrated in four areas: commerce, manufacturing, hospitality, and construction.
By autonomous community, the largest number of workers benefiting from the reduction are in Catalonia, Madrid and Andalucia.
The Council of Ministers has agreed to send to the Congress of Deputies the Draft Law for the reduction of the maximum duration of the ordinary working day and the guarantee of the day registration and the right to disconnection. The rule advances in the reduction of the working day without a decrease in wages.
The second vice president of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has highlighted that the project “changes people’s lives” and contributes to the reconciliation of work and family. In addition, it has framed the initiative in the modernization of the world of work that the Executive has undertaken in the last 5 years, hand in hand with social dialogue. Yolanda Díaz has highlighted the signing of more than 20 major agreements during that period, as well as the record figure of occupation that Spain has achieved, with almost 21.6 million employees.
“The Government has complied, with the president at the head, and now it has to talk about popular sovereignty,” said the vice president. Yolanda Díaz has added that the parliamentary processing of the project will allow to know the position of each political formation and has advocated for “opening a great citizen conversation” on this matter.
First reduction in working hours since 1983
The rule establishes a maximum legal working day of 37.5 hours per week (the current one, in force since 1983, is 40 hours).
“We don’t work in Spain like in 1983, fortunately, the world has changed a lot,” said Yolanda Díaz, who stressed that many groups already enjoy a working day of 37.5 hours or less. In fact, on average, the new maximum implies a reduction in the working day of 48 minutes per week.
The second vice president and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, during the press conference after the Council of Ministers. | Pool Moncloa / Jose Manuel Álvarez
The Minister of Labor and Social Economy has also argued that productivity has grown in Spain by 53% while the real remuneration of employees has only increased by 22%.
12.5 million beneficiaries
The reform, as detailed by the second vice president, benefits 12.5 million working people, of which 10.5 million are full-time and 2 million part-time. Among full-time workers, 60.5% of the beneficiaries are men, while in the case of part-time work 75.3% of those who would see their working hours reduced are women.
By sector, more than half of the beneficiaries of the reduction fall into four sectors: trade, manufacturing, hospitality and construction. The second vice president has pointed out that precisely in these areas the business margins have grown above average in recent years. In the hospitality industry, for example, margins have increased by 105% since 2009 and by 35% since 2019.
By autonomous communities, the largest number of beneficiaries of the reduction of the day corresponds to Catalonia, Madrid and Andalusia, which add up to more than 6 million workers, followed by the Valencian Community, Galicia and the Canary Islands.
Translated from the Spanish government’s press release.
