Junts opts to reject the reduction of working hours
Not like that. The terms under which the government will approve the bill this coming Tuesday to reduce the working week to 37.5 hours a week do not convince Junts per Catalunya, to the point that the party will halt its parliamentary process if there is no agreement before the full debate reaches Congress. In other words, without changes there is no approval, according to sources within the party familiar with the negotiations. The stumbling block relates to the application of this measure to SMEs, an issue that worries the post-Convergent party because they believe it "compromises the viability" of these businesses.
These sources express their discontent with the regulation because it "undermines social dialogue." They point to the fact that, at the end of December, Vice President Yolanda Díaz reached an agreement with the unions, CC.OO. and UGT, but the employers' associations do not support it.
In parallel, with the current wording, JxCat maintains that the law fails to address other issues affecting the labor market, such as the impact on productivity, the limit on overtime, or how to address the problem of absenteeism. The party believes that the impact of this "imposition" will be "uneven" because it will generate more difficulties for small and medium-sized businesses due to the "costs" it will entail, whose impact on the Catalan productive sector exceeds 99%.
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They don't see this same impact on large corporations, so they believe the sanctions regime shouldn't be the same for small businesses.
With these cards on the table, Junts advocates presenting a comprehensive amendment. Once the Congress's Bureau approves the law, a 15-day period will be opened—extendable—to present amendments. A debate on the entire bill will only be held if there are return amendments, as would be the case if there is no prior agreement between the Government and JxCat. When the draft bill was approved by the Council of Ministers in early February, the secretary general of the post-Convergents party, Jordi Turull, warned a few days later after a meeting with Cecot that they were "closer to voting no than validating the law." This was also echoed by MP Josep Maria Cervera at the Labor Committee in early March.
The post-convergent groups are calling for changes for SMEs and for working hours adjustments to be negotiated by sector.Despite everything, the position is not immovable, and the obstacle is not insurmountable. Negotiations with the Ministry are ongoing—Yolanda Díaz has publicly stated that she is in talks with the leader of JxCat, Carles Puigdemont—but Junts sets a timeframe: if Sumar does not make concessions along the lines of its demands before a full debate, adapting the framework to the Catalan "reality," its votes will be negative.
This issue has sparked debate within the party, which is aware that it is a "thorny" issue because it is "difficult" to oppose a worker working fewer hours while maintaining or improving their pay. The party's top leadership is not opposed to the reduction per se.
In fact, the left-wing branch of Junts—the party's membership is divided among three ideological currents, the other two being Social Democrat and Liberal—defends its support for the project and, thus, distances itself from the employers' association. However, the shared assessment is its "complex" applicability to SMEs, and therefore they argue that working hours should be adjusted in the negotiation of collective agreements for the different sectors, depending on the size and the company.
With its approval on Tuesday, the decisive moment has arrived. On Thursday, Vice President Yolanda Díaz celebrated the fact that "we will be able to formally hear the opinions of the various parties." In the case of JxCat, she admitted that "work is underway" and noted that "there is room for negotiation."
Coincidentally or not, Díaz focused on the PP: "I haven't lost hope that Feijóo, who told Spain we should reduce the work week to four, will return. I'd like us to know what purpose his 137 deputies serve."
Yolanda Díaz, in contact with Carles Puigdemont, sees "room" for negotiationOne of the Labor Party's flagship projects of the legislature currently appears unlikely to prosper without the support of Junts. Furthermore, there is another issue: the approval of the delegation of powers over immigration is still pending, with sensitivities within Sumar expressing reluctance to the law. Negotiations continue in Madrid and Barcelona, but time is increasingly pressing.
Reestablishing harmony with employersSocial and economic stakeholders have intensified their contacts with Junts to address the reduction of working hours. In December, UGT leader Pepe Álvarez visited Carles Puigdemont in Waterloo to "pave the way" and gauge his support for the measure. But what remains constant are the meetings with employers' organizations. The JxCat leader has met, among others, with Foment (Foment), whose dialogue with its president, Josep Sánchez Llibre, is regular and fluid; Femcat (Fecavem), Cecot (Cecot), and the Consell de Gremis de Catalunya (Catalan Trade Union Council). Last Friday, Pimec (Spanish Workers' Union), which expressed its rejection of the law for being "disconnected from business reality," joined these visits. This rapprochement with the business world is increasingly evident, and Junts has not missed the fact that Foment has toughened its tone against the Catalan government over housing and against the government over the reduction of working hours, calling it "one of the most serious mistakes since the beginning of democracy." Sánchez Llibre stated this week that they will seek to "influence" the groups to ensure the project "fails."
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