Reducing working hours and renewing the collective bargaining agreement will be the focus of UGT and CCOO's line of action in Aragon.

Back from vacation, and it's not just political parties that are outlining their strategies for the new school year following the summer break. The UGT and CCOO Aragón unions have also announced their strategic guidelines, which primarily focus on approving the reduction of the working day , renewing the Collective Bargaining Agreement (ANC) , which expires at the end of this year, and strengthening the agreements reached through social dialogue in Aragon.

And, within these points, the reduction of the working day is marked as one of the first keys, given that it will be voted on this coming Wednesday, with the expected rejection by the Congress of Deputies of the bill to reduce the maximum working day from 40 hours to 37.5 hours without reducing pay .

The possibility that this measure will not go ahead has been described by both the general secretary of UGT Aragón, José Juan Arceiz, and the general secretary of CCOO Aragón, Manuel Pina, as "democratic degradation and fraud. We will try to make whoever overturns it pay."

Both agreed on the importance of moving forward with reducing the working day, even if there are "difficulties," Arceiz noted, emphasizing that "this doesn't mean it isn't a necessity and a demand from the public."

In fact, despite the fact that, as of today, there is no clear majority to push the measure through parliament, " we will not give up . As soon as the vote is over, if it is not approved, we will begin to demand that the political parties and parliamentarians reconsider the proposal in a way that can be approved," added the general secretary of UGT Aragón, who added that there is really no argument to support that this reduction in working hours will cause problems.

However, he clarified that "it is very difficult" for parliamentarians to justify their rejection of this measure and "why are they going to deny the vast majority of citizens in this country the opportunity to have a better and more balanced life? We are optimistic. We believe that until the final day of voting, anything is possible."

For his part, the general secretary of CCOO Aragón, Manuel Pina, stated that "what we are asking of the political parties is not to support the bill as is, but to debate it and contribute measures . Reducing working hours has been a historical demand of trade unionism for 200 years." He also stated that opposition to reducing working hours goes beyond a "clash of legitimacy," given that it directly implies "a refusal to discuss the issue; that is what this Wednesday's vote is about."

Aside from the reduction in working hours, both unions also addressed other issues at their first meeting at the start of the new school year, such as the importance of approving regional budgets to develop employment and social protection policies.

" Social dialogue also depends on budgets. In this autonomous community, there was no budget last year, and we would like to participate in its development. Many of the measures we have to implement throughout the year depend on these budget allocations," Pina added.

The general secretary of CCOO Aragón also focused on the need to strengthen collective bargaining agreements , given that "the ANC is not something distant that is negotiated at the state level; we are experiencing it very closely in Aragón. Until we signed the current 23-25, collective bargaining was very difficult and complicated."

Added to these issues is the occupational accident rate , which is on the rise in Aragon, with 27 fatal accidents so far this year. " It cannot be that in 2025 there will still be people climbing onto roofs without being required to perform any type of work. This summer we saw how people have once again lost their lives due to perfectly avoidable situations," Pina noted, emphasizing that companies are the ones that must guarantee safety because "they are the ones responsible for monitoring risk prevention. Someone has to ensure that prevention is carried out."

And, specifically in the area of ​​occupational health and safety, proposals have also been launched today by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), which has asked the Government of Aragon for a package of extraordinary measures following a month of August that has been particularly "black" in terms of workplace accidents.

Villagrasa emphasized the need to promote a culture of prevention "using all available means, as current ones are proving insufficient." He also emphasized promoting investment in training, awareness-raising, and a culture of prevention across all sectors, and intensifying actions to ensure compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.

Other proposed measures focus on increasing the number of inspectors, strengthening the Aragonese Institute of Occupational Safety with more resources and information campaigns, as well as adapting the law to new labor realities and new risks at work, among others.