80% of part-time workers are involuntarily employed.

BarcelonaWhen part-time work was introduced in Spain more than 40 years ago, it was sold as an employment measure that would allow workers to better balance their personal lives and companies to gain flexibility. It is also noted that more than 80% of part-time workers in Catalonia do so "for involuntary or forced reasons."

In the Principality, four out of ten employed people (38.3%) have such a contract because they cannot find a full-time job; while a group of 0 people find themselves in this situation, and it notes that only 31,800 employed people work part-time by choice. In this sense, the study also makes it clear that this problem affects women the most: the female part-time rate (18.7%) exceeds the male rate (7.8%); more than double. of national origin," comments the UGT report. For every man who cannot find full-time work (45,500), there are three women (123,600).

"Normalize" this option

The secretary of union policy for the Catalan government's UGT (General Confederation of Workers' Unions) (UGT), Oscar Riu, has denounced that "above all" sectors such as services "normalize" the practice of part-time work, when people ultimately end up "working full-time." In this regard, he expressed "concern," since precariousness "is the order of the day" in areas such as retail and entertainment, among others.

Riu also warned that the consequences of "forced part-time work" are felt in lower wages, which represent only 41% of the salary of a full-time employee. Added to this is the effect on pensions, which also end up being lower: "The precariousness of these people will extend throughout their lives, even when they retire," the union leader emphasized.