Sumar's candidate, Yolanda Díaz, has presented a study on the benefits of this proposal that has already been implemented in various areas of Spanish territory
The reduction of working hours without salary cuts is beginning to be a reality. Yolanda Díaz's proposals in her Sumar platform for the general elections and the subsidies that the government offers to SMEs for implementing reduced working hours paint a reality that is quite close and very different from the one we know.
Increased productivity and better work-life balance are the main reasons behind this proposal, which has sparked diverse reactions in the workplace. One of the main proponents of this measure has been Íñigo Errejón, who was already discussing this possibility in the Spanish Congress of Deputies in 2020 .
From the private sector there have been various opinions, the President of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, spoke about this issue in 2022 stating that “it is a debate to win elections.” However, some companies have already requested aid of up to 200.000 euros that the central government published in the BOE on April 13.
In the United Kingdom, a pilot test of the four-day working day has already been carried out, resulting in a reduction in the number of sick leave and an increase in productivity of 22%. Some Spanish companies decided to be pioneers in this matter and adapt their working hours, or at least try for a while, to the reduction of four days with the same remuneration. A measure that, a priori, had unanimity regarding its implementation but that after the test received complaints from various employees who were part of this reduction in working hours due to an “excessive workload” in the four working days.
And Canary Islands? Has the four-day journey arrived yet? Well, yes. A company in the archipelago anticipated Yolanda Díaz's proposals and government subsidies and implemented reduced working hours without reducing remuneration at the beginning of 2022. Cib Labs, a company specialized in digitalization processes and based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, adopted this measure in order to “provide more free time and a quieter living environment to impact the creativity of its workers.” Now, with the aid granted by the executive to companies with more than 250 workers, it is expected that more companies in the archipelago will adopt this dynamic.
The great popular reception of this measure and the lack of innovative proposals from the opposition seem to indicate that, sooner rather than later, reduced working hours without affecting salary will be key when it comes to offering and demanding a job.
