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Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Goodbye 40-hour week? Spain moves closer to a shorter workweek as Parliament considers historic bill to cut hours for over 12 million workers
Spain Moves to Shorten Workweek for Millions Political Roadblocks Ahead Live Events FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Spain is making a bold move towards redefining the future of work, as it has taken a step that could impact the daily lives of over 12.5 million workers, the Spanish government approved a bill to reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 37.5 hours, as per a bill, which was unveiled on Tuesday, now will go to the Spanish parliament for approval, according to Euronews. If approved, it would be the country's first official decrease in working hours since 1983 and usher in a big change for private sector workers in sectors like manufacturing, construction, hospitality, and retail, as per the country's Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz said, "Today, we are modernising the world of labour and helping people to be a little happier," quoted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's administration has a steep fight ahead of it to have its suggested reduced workweek passed into legislation since it does not have a majority in parliament, according to the report. That means the approval of the bill rests on obtaining votes from smaller parties, some of which are already complaining, as per the nation's largest trade unions are supporting the shift to reduce the standard workweek to 37.5 hours, business organizations are opposed to it, cautioning that it may pose problems, particularly for small firms, as per the plan was proposed by Sumar, Sánchez's left-wing junior coalition partner, but one of its occasional allies, the Catalan nationalist party Junts , has been sceptical about the proposal, as per Euronews. Junts are concerned that the reduced time could harm small businesses and self-employed workers under a shorter working week, reported to the report, the coalition government would have to balance the demands of Junts and other smaller parties to get the bill Spanish government wants to reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 37.5 hours, as per but not recently. The last official reduction in work hours was in 1983, when the week was cut from 48 to 40 hours.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Spanish bill to cut workweek to 37.5 hours heads to parliament after receiving government approval
Spanish bill to cut workweek to 37.5 hours heads to parliament after receiving government approval (Photo: AP) Workers in Spain may soon have 2.5 more hours of weekly rest after the government on Tuesday approved a bill that would reduce the workweek from 40 hours to 37.5 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 labor."Today, we are modernizing the world of labor and helping people to be a little happier," said labor 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, Diaz 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 the hard-left minority partner of Sanchez's Socialist Party, proposed the Catalan nationalist party Junts (Together), an occasional ally of Sanchez's coalition, expressed concern over what it said would be negative consequences for small companies and the self-employed under a shorter working coalition will have to balance the demands of Junts and other smaller parties to get the bill has had a 40-hour workweek since 1983, when it was reduced from 48 hours.
Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Times
Plan to honour Mario Vargas Llosa stirs up Catalan separatists
The romantic passions of Mario Vargas Llosa, the Latin American literary giant, embraced the women he adored and the places that enchanted him. But the love that the Nobel prize-winning Peruvian had for Barcelona, the city he credited with establishing him as a writer, may be unrequited, at least officially. Vargas Llosa, who died this month aged 89, opposed Catalan separatism with such vehemence in later life that calls for Barcelona to name a street in his honour face stiff opposition from the region's nationalists. Aleix Sarri, a leader of the Catalan separatist Junts party, said: 'Vargas Llosa was an irredeemable anti-Catalan, he legitimised repression and always lined up in favour of the colonial forces. Our country has no reason to pay special tribute to
MTV Lebanon
27-03-2025
- Business
- MTV Lebanon
Spain's PM floats rolling over budget again due to lack of votes
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez suggested on Wednesday his government could roll over the budget for a second year and start working on a new bill for 2026, as the chances of passing one this year in the fragmented lower house dwindle. Spain's centre-left minority coalition faces a balancing act in every vote as it weighs concessions to several other parties from across the spectrum that support it on a vote-by-vote basis and which have often opposing demands, such as the hard-left Podemos and centre-right Junts. Such a balance is even harder to achieve now Sanchez has pledged to increase Spain's defence spending in line with the rest of the European Union, an issue that has split his cabinet. The government had initially promised to submit a budget bill before the end of the first quarter, but it wants to have secured the support of all its allies before doing so. In the meantime, Spain is rolling over its 2023 spending plan, as it did last year. However, Sanchez did not completely rule out submitting a 2025 spending plan - which would need to happen before the end of May. "If we have time to get a budget this year, we will do it, and if not, we'll start working on the 2026 budget," he told lawmakers after announcing he would outline and start implementing a plan to boost the defence sector before the summer. Sanchez was replying to opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who told the premier he should not leave the parliament without saying if he was going to submit a budget for 2025. "The budget is the first point of any defence plan," Nunez Feijoo said. He said it should not be seen as normal "to face this context with an expired budget of a majority that no longer exists". Sanchez has said he could increase defence spending without going through parliament, drawing criticism from the opposition.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spain's PM floats rolling over budget again due to lack of votes
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez suggested on Wednesday his government could roll over the budget for a second year and start working on a new bill for 2026, as the chances of passing one this year in the fragmented lower house dwindle. Spain's centre-left minority coalition faces a balancing act in every vote as it weighs concessions to several other parties from across the spectrum that support it on a vote-by-vote basis and which have often opposing demands, such as the hard-left Podemos and centre-right Junts. Such a balance is even harder to achieve now Sanchez has pledged to increase Spain's defence spending in line with the rest of the European Union, an issue that has split his cabinet. The government had initially promised to submit a budget bill before the end of the first quarter, but it wants to have secured the support of all its allies before doing so. In the meantime, Spain is rolling over its 2023 spending plan, as it did last year. However, Sanchez did not completely rule out submitting a 2025 spending plan - which would need to happen before the end of May. "If we have time to get a budget this year, we will do it, and if not, we'll start working on the 2026 budget," he told lawmakers after announcing he would outline and start implementing a plan to boost the defence sector before the summer. Sanchez was replying to opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who told the premier he should not leave the parliament without saying if he was going to submit a budget for 2025. "The budget is the first point of any defence plan," Nunez Feijoo said. He said it should not be seen as normal "to face this context with an expired budget of a majority that no longer exists". Sanchez has said he could increase defence spending without going through parliament, drawing criticism from the opposition.
