Win for the workers
Spaniards work a little over 36 hours a week on average. According to European Union data, that puts them around the middle of the European ranking, putting in four and a half more hours a week than Germans, for example.
Since the pandemic, the Spanish economy has been a rare bright spot in Europe, growing well ahead of its peers. Wages, however, have not caught up. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, real wages in Spain in the first quarter of 2024 were still below where they were before the pandemic, putting it near the bottom of the table for advanced economies over that time frame.
By keeping salaries steady while cutting work hours, a shorter week amounts to a de facto raise. The measure has a broad buy-in from the public. Two out of three Spaniards back a shorter working week, according to a poll published in September.
Private business is more skeptical. Spain’s Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE), one of the two industry groups that walked out of the three-way talks, warns that the measure will cost companies between €21 billion and €23 billion in extra costs this year if implemented.
Rosa Santos, the director of CEOE’s labor division, maintains that the organization is not opposed to shorter work hours, but that this should be done though sectoral collective bargaining agreements, which can be tailored to each industry’s specific needs.
“The impact is very uneven: by sector, by geography, by company size,” said Santos.
Pablo Simón, a political scientist at the University Carlos III of Madrid, said he thought that Sumar and the PSOE would eventually reach a deal on the reform, but noted that Sumar is under greater pressure: Opinion polls show its support has nearly halved since it won 15 percent of the vote at the last election in 2023.
“The smaller partner is in a difficult situation because it doesn’t have the capacity to go to elections,” Simón said.
