The Labor Ministry has asked business leaders to send a written proposal to shorten the workweek before the coming Monday. If that does not happen, the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquin Perez Rey, has hinted that negotiations will be accelerated and a deal with unions could be sent to Congress by the end of August, even without participation from employers.
The department led by Yolanda Diaz has raised the tone against business groups and accused them of hindering talks to fulfill one of the coalition government’s electoral commitments. Perez Rey told employers they must take the negotiations seriously. The CEOE, when approached by this outlet, declined to comment.
This Monday, representatives from the Labor Ministry rejoined talks with employers and unions to discuss the initial draft they had sent a few days earlier. Employers did not submit written comments on the document, and both the ministry and the unions reproached them for that. The situation was summed up by the vice secretary general of the UGT, Fernando Lujan, who stated that time has run out.
Politically, there is pressure on the Labor Ministry to push the reform forward, while the unions fear the law could take effect later than hoped. Official plans call for reducing the maximum weekly hours to 38.5 this year and to 37.5 starting January next year. The second adjustment would affect eight in ten workers covered by a collective agreement, and the unions are worried about the challenge of implementing the change across many companies on short notice.
The Labor Ministry and the unions have issued a mild ultimatum to the employers. They asked that written proposals be brought to the next meeting set for next Monday. Yet the parties did not specify what they would do if that does not happen. A union policy secretary from CCCO remarked that if there is no deal, the government will back the measure. A representative of UGT added that the effort will continue without employers if they refuse to participate.