Yolanda Diaz He has been making it clear for some time that one of his concerns is the long working hours of the workers. Now, the leader of Sumar has materialized that concern in his electoral program. With a view to the general elections on 23-J, the second vice president will propose that in 2024 it is established by law that the working day of 40 hours per week is reduced to 37.5 and, later, in a “progressive” way, continue working with the social agents to get to 32 hours weekly.
“I want to make a proposal that is very simple, that working people can return home An hour before after their working day to rest, to be with their loved ones or to do whatever they want. It is revolutionary because time is the most valuable thing for those of us who do not have large properties or important surnames”, the Minister of Labor has also sentenced in a video that her team has shared. In addition, she has stressed that in this way the workers will gain “time to be free”.
Díaz explained that “the working day has always been reduced as productivity improved”, but that “since 30 years ago that process stopped“. Making use of his already famous phrase “I am going to give you a piece of information”, he recalled that at the beginning of the 20th century 2,800 hours a year were worked and that we are currently below 1,700. He has also pointed out that, even so, in Spain works 300 more hours than in Germany and 150 more than in France.
more ambitious
In this sense, Sumar will defend that next year it be established by law that the maximum working day must be 37.5 hours and that later “a process of social dialogue will be opened to continue reducing the working day to 32 hours a week.” They also propose improving control over overtime and compensating it with free time or eliminating uncontrolled variable schedules.
Related news
Díaz’s proposal is in line with a study published a few days ago by the Ministry of Labor, although it is more ambitious. The conclusions they obtained for the future law on the use of time included the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours in 2026 and 32 hours in 2032, as well as measures regarding flexibility, conciliation, productivity and occupational health. Already at that moment, the vice-president indicated that it is necessary to have “time to live, to think, to get bored and do what we like”.
Sumar’s spokesman, Ernest Urtasun, cited the case of France, where the working day is 35 hours, as an example to follow: “This reduction by law allowed France to have lower unemployment. This is a component that must be accompanied by the social dialogue, and therefore we say that we can do this by law at the beginning and through social dialogue gradually reduce to 32 hours”.