Spanish bill to cut work week to 37.5 hours heads to parliament
Workers in Spain may soon have 2.5 more hours of weekly rest after the government approved a bill that would reduce the work week from 40 hours to 37.5 hours.
If enacted, the bill — which will now go to parliament — would benefit 12.5 million full-time and part-time private sector workers and is expected to improve productivity and reduce absenteeism, according to the Ministry of Labour.
'Today, we are modernising the world of labour and helping people to be a little happier,' said labour minister Yolanda Diaz, who heads the left-wing party Sumar (Joining Forces).
The measure, which already applies to civil servants and some other sectors, would mainly affect retail, manufacturing, hospitality, and construction, Ms Diaz added.
ADVERTISEMENT
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez's left-wing coalition government does not have a clear majority in parliament, where the bill must be approved for it to become law. The main trade unions have expressed support for the proposal, unlike business associations.
Sumar, the hard-left minority partner of Mr Sanchez's Socialist Party, proposed the bill.
The Catalan nationalist party Junts (Together), an occasional ally of Mr Sanchez's coalition, expressed concern over what it said would be negative consequences for small companies and the self-employed under a shorter working week.
The coalition will have to balance the demands of Junts and other smaller parties to get the bill passed.
Spain has had a 40-hour work week since 1983, when it was reduced from 48 hours.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Bank of Spain Cuts GDP Forecast as US Tariffs Cloud Outlook
The Bank of Spain lowered its 2025 growth forecast for the country, citing a high level of economic uncertainty due to US trade policies. Gross domestic product is expected to expand by 2.4%, down from a previous prediction of 2.7% in March, the head of the central bank, Jose Luis Escriva, said on Monday.
New York Times
5 hours ago
- New York Times
Italian Referendum to Loosen Citizenship Rules Fails
A referendum that sought to make it easier for foreigners to apply for Italian citizenship ended unsuccessfully on Monday when it failed to draw a majority of voters to the polls. Polls closed at 3 p.m. with around 30 percent of eligible voters having cast a ballot — far below the turnout of 50 percent plus one person required for a referendum to be valid. The vote, which took place over Sunday and Monday, also sought to strengthen labor rights. The result was a relief for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had vocally opposed the referendum, which called for dropping to five from 10 the number of years a foreigner had to live in Italy before applying for citizenship. Some of her coalition partners had called on people to abstain from voting. Ms. Meloni went to her polling station on Sunday evening but did not cast a ballot. The referendum prompted nationwide discussion about who could be a citizen, and came as the issues of migration and birthright citizenship are hotly debated in the United States and Europe. Even if they are born in Italy, the children of lawful immigrants can apply for citizenship only when they turn 18 — and only if they have continuously lived in the country since birth. Many economists believe that migration is critical to a country that is facing a steep demographic decline. The referendum was championed by a major trade union, civil society groups and some center-left opposition parties. But it had little bipartisan support, and voter turnout was low on the first weekend after public schools closed in much of Italy. Since 1990, only three of 14 referendums managed to draw enough voters to be valid. 'We've been let down by Italy before, we knew it was an uphill battle,' Fioralba Duma, an activist for Italians Without Citizenship, one of the groups that supported the referendum, said of the low turnout. On the positive side, she added, the referendum brought the citizenship issue into mainstream conversation, spotlighting the challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of foreigners who seek to be better integrated into Italian society. Even though the referendum didn't pass, with about a quarter of the ballots counted, about 64 percent of those who voted did so in favor of reducing the number of years living in Italy required for citizenship to five from 10. For many activists, she said, the defeat of the referendum was merely a setback, adding, 'We will continue to work.' \
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Forbes
Real Madrid Will Pull Off This Genius Free Transfer
Real Madrid is set to pull off what could prove to be a genius free transfer according to Mundo ... More Deportivo, which cited anonymous sources. Real Madrid is set to pull off what could prove to be a genius free transfer according to Mundo Deportivo, which cited anonymous sources. President Florentino Perez has acted swiftly following a trophyless season in terms of major silverware, as bitter rival FC Barcelona swept a domestic treble in Spain. His first port of call was replacing head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who now oversees the Brazil national team, and replacing him with one of the game's most hyped young managers in Xabi Alonso. On the weekend that the 2024/2025 La Liga campaign drew to a close, Madrid then announced that it had activated Spain international Dean Huijsen's £50 million release clause at Bournemouth. This was Madrid's first piece of business in the transfer market, which was quickly followed by paying €10 million to get Trent Alexander-Arnold out of an expiring Liverpool contract earlier than June 30 so that he can play the World Club Cup in the United States. The newly-reimagined FIFA tournament with huge prize money on offer is one that Argentine wonderkid Franco Mastantuono is expected to play for his boyhood club River Plate. After the competition, however, he should then cross the Atlantic and complete his transfer to Real Madrid after Los Blancos came out of nowhere and renewed interest in the whiz kid at a time when Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City appeared to be the frontrunners for his capture. To cap off a week where a delegation travelled Madrid looks set to pay the youngster's $51.5 million (€45 million) release clause after reaching an agreement with both the player and his current employer. Aged just 17, Mastantuono is a punt for the future alongside Endrick and Arda Guler. But Perez isn't done there in playing the long game, and while those mentioned three transfers around $170 million ($€147 million to be exact in euros), Perez is looking even further into the future and could have pulled off a major coup. This is because according to Mundo Deportivo, Ajax's Abdellah Ouazane will join Real Madrid's Castilla reserve team in July. Aged 16, he will do so at zero cost because the prodigy of Moroccan descent did not agree fresh terms with the Dutch club in what could prove to be another transfer market masterstroke.
