MADRID (Reuters) – A split in Spain’s left-wing coalition government over a plan to implement a shorter working week with the same pay broke into the open on Friday after the country’s labour minister accused the economy minister of “siding with employers”.
Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz, who leads the far-left Sumar party, told state radio broadcaster RNE there were “manifest disagreements” with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party over the plan, and appealed to colleagues to “respect the committee of experts” that drew it up.
She took aim at Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo, who suggested the plan should be delayed by a year to give small businesses time to adapt.
Cuerpo “must decide on whose side he is on, that of the workers of this country who ask to live a bit better, or that of employers,” she said.
A source at Spain’s economy ministry said the government remained committed to the plan and implementing it was “a priority”.
“We must continue to bet on an economic policy that works and one that guarantees the sustainability of our economic and social achievements,” the source added.
Spain was one of Europe’s top economic performers last year, with growth driven by a tourism boom, migration and a strengthening labour market.
Diaz, who is also deputy prime minister, made the plan to reduce working hours central to her party’s support for Prime Minister Sanchez’s minority government.
Her goal is to reduce working hours to 37.5 per week from the current 40, with no change in salary, before the end of 2025.
Spain’s central bank and former economy minister have both warned that higher labour costs could fuel inflation and curb job creation.
Companies have also voiced concern. Spain’s main employers’ association CEOE argues a shorter working week should not be imposed by law but through collective bargaining with each company able to adapt it to its specific needs.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, writing by Aislinn Laing, editing by Christina Fincher)
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