The Ministry of Labour speeds up the process of reducing working hours without introducing any substantial changes

The position of the Economic and Social Council was practically the last essential step for the draft law on the reduction of the working day to continue its course towards a second passage through the Council of Ministers and finally, its arrival at the Congress of Deputies. And the report has been approved today, including the recognition of the “social relevance” of the reduction of the working day and the need to continue adapting working conditions to social, economic and technological changes, but also adding several touches to the Government.

The most forceful criticism is the lack of analysis of the economic impact that the measures will have, criticising the fact that an in-depth report has not been included on the effects that the reduction in working hours will have, both in the short and medium term. Added to this is another point regarding the time frames followed, which are considered too accelerated for an in-depth examination, both during the negotiation with the social agents and now, with the urgent procedure that has been applied to the measure.

The plenary session of the CES also calls for a more flexible framework to ensure effective compliance with the law, especially in sectors such as agriculture, and also a sufficient transitional regime so that both sectors with an agreement and those without one can adapt.

It is a position approved almost unanimously, 53 votes in favour, two against and one abstention, which has been well received by the Ministry of Labour, despite the criticisms included in the report. From Yolanda Díaz's department, it is interpreted as support for the need to apply this reform and they add that they are not going to introduce any substantial change in the norm, although they will make some minor technical modifications to improve the draft law. They basically refer to giving a margin of flexibility to adapt to the sectors that do not have a collective agreement, which are a minority, and not to limit so strictly the cases of digital disconnection.

The draft law will therefore soon be submitted to the Council of Ministers, although no date has yet been set, and will then be submitted to the Cortes, where a tough battle will begin to obtain enough votes for its passage. In any case, negotiations with the parliamentary groups are already underway, although it is not yet clear whether a sufficient majority will be obtained.

Regarding the CES's criticisms, the Labour Party responded that the negotiation timeframes had been sufficient, that all sectors were represented in business organisations and that, with regard to the lack of analysis of the economic impact, it wanted to maintain a neutral position and limited itself to collecting the economic evidence on which there was consensus, without entering into controversial positions that could have caused discrepancies.