Spain Approves Plan to Reduce Working Week to 37.5 Hours

Overview

• Spain's cabinet approved a plan to reduce the working week from 40 hours to 37.5 hours without salary cuts, impacting around 12 million workers.
• The measure, championed by Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz, is aimed at boosting productivity and improving work-life balance in the country.
• Businesses and the central bank have expressed concerns about increased labor costs potentially fueling inflation and harming job creation.
• The plan still requires parliamentary approval, where the minority government faces opposition from pro-business Catalan and Basque separatist parties.
• Public sector employees and workers already covered by agreements limiting hours will not be affected by the change.