May Day: Just a Matter of Hours?

One of the outstanding issues for the Spanish economy is productivity. The day has 24 hours, and it's necessary to make the most of them. Clearly, the ideal is to do more and better with less time. This is the great challenge and the way for a society and the economy as a whole to progress. The reflection of everything is per capita income. If productivity doesn't grow, neither does the distribution of wealth. This is one of the tasks we have pending.

The Círculo de Economía (Economic Circle), which holds its annual meeting in Barcelona from Monday to Wednesday, recently created a working group to provide three-year solutions to improve productivity. If we take 2015 as a starting point, productivity per hour worked in Catalonia has lost ground and worsened compared to the Spanish average. But the truth is that Europe as a whole is also losing ground compared to the US. The Old Continent has been a leader in medium-level technologies, such as the combustion-engine automobile, but not in advances like the electric vehicle, although Donald Trump's tariff policy and consumer rejection of Tesla owner Elon Musk, who is charged with cutting public spending, present a good opportunity to gain ground. Europe also has a more fragmented market, a lower level of investment in research and development and technology transfer compared to the world's leading power, and a smaller business size than in the US.

The consequence of all this is that the contribution of total factor productivity has been declining in Spain and Catalonia since 2000, with a strong dependence on low-value-added sectors and an allocation and reallocation of capital that neglects fundamental pillars for improving productivity, such as human capital formation. The fact is that, if it sets its mind to it, Catalonia has assets that could allow it to take advantage of the digital economy dominated by the US and China. And it's not just a question of size, since Denmark is a small country but at the forefront in all segments.

This May Day The unions are demanding a reduction in the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours. It's a legitimate and understandable demand. Monday's blackout has delayed the government's approval of the draft bill, once the Socialists and Sumar parties have closed their differences. A tortuous path will then lie ahead to secure sufficient support in Congress. The key lies, once again, with Junts. The employers' associations CEOE and Foment del Treball are completely opposed to a forced regulation. Official State GazettePimec too, although it would be willing to tone down its criticism if a period of adaptation and support for SMEs is agreed upon. Everyone is looking to attract Junts.

The workday has been adjusted over the years. It wasn't that long ago that people even worked on Saturdays. It's natural for the number of hours dedicated to work to adapt to social and technological advances. But it's also better to do so with the utmost consensus and taking into account the needs and characteristics of each sector and business.