Spain reduces the 8-hour workday for all employees

The Spanish Cabinet approved a law that reduces weekly working hours to 37.5 from 40 without cutting workers’ wages.

“This proposal is about better living, less work, and much greater productivity and economic efficiency,” said Minister of Labor Yolanda Diaz, who leads the left-wing Sumar party in Pedro Sánchez’s coalition government.

The 37.5-hour workweek already applies in the public sector and large companies, and the measure will impact nearly 12 million workers in the private sector (retail, hospitality, agriculture).

The European countries with the shortest weekly working hours are France (35), Iceland (36), Denmark (37), Norway (37.5), and Belgium (38).

The center-right Catalan separatist party, Junts, has already opposed the proposal, as has the Employers’ Federation, CEOE, which argues that the measure will raise costs for Spanish businesses and make them less competitive.

“The business world supports dialogue, but not monologue,” said CEOE president Antonio Garamendi.
At the same time, Spain’s central bank has warned that higher labor costs could drive inflation and limit job creation.

Diaz also clashed with the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, whom she accused of “siding with employers” for suggesting a one-year delay in implementing the measure to allow small businesses time to adjust.