Together opens the debate on whether it is necessary (or not) to work less

BarcelonaSince Junts has become decisive in Madrid, the business community has reconciled with exile and regularly parades through Waterloo to meet with former president Carles Puigdemont. Beyond Fomento (Fomento), which Josep Sánchez Llibre frequently visits, Cecot, Fecavem, UPM, and the Council of Trade Unions of Catalonia have also visited, as well as Femcat, a foundation dedicated to lobbying for the Catalan business community. Just this Friday, Pimec visited Waterloo, and Jordi Turull, Míriam Nogueras, and Albert Batet have also maintained bilateral contacts with all the employers' associations. The short-term objective of this dialogue was to stop the reduction of working hours promoted by the Spanish vice president, Yolanda Díaz, a position that until now had been bought by Puigdemont.

Now, the moment of truth has arrived. Díaz herself announced that next Tuesday –the week of Labor Day– the Council of Ministers will approve the bill for the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours, and from there the dance will begin. It doesn't have guaranteed support in Congress, and all eyes turn to Junts: it will have to decide whether to present a comprehensive amendment or let the bill go through and opt for making amendments during the parliamentary process.

The most relevant part of Junts is in favor of a comprehensive amendment. "We are the party of shopkeepers. And the reduction of working hours goes against them," one source summarizes categorically, arguing that either small self-employed workers will work more or they will be forced to hire more people without making the numbers work. However, there is also another sentiment within Junts, one that considers itself more social democratic, which believes the party should maintain a more conciliatory stance in this debate—Junts workers themselves have agreed to work 37.5 hours in practice—and avoid aligning directly with employers. Or avoid taking a photo with the far-right Vox and the PP, since the PNV is leaning toward at least allowing the initiative to proceed. In fact, some sources even suggest that not all members of the PP are happy to veto the initiative.

Pimec, with whom Puigdemont met on Friday, would be open to accepting the 37.5 hours if the proposal is modified. The small and medium-sized business association, like the rest of the business community, does not want the measure, but it is also willing to consider reforms if it passes the first debate in Congress: a moratorium of several years for small businesses, a disparity in the sanctioning regime for large and micro companies, or more flexible timekeeping in companies with fewer workers. It is also necessary for the government to assume the cost of reducing working hours for companies with public contracts if this implies a higher cost than the tendered contract.

Given the employers' association's staunch opposition to reducing working hours from the outset, simply passing the first debate in Congress would be a very important breath of fresh air for Yolanda Díaz, especially in turning the page on the Spanish government's contracts with Israel. However, it is also true that a move in Congress to consider the 37.5-hour period could backfire on Sumar: if the initiative were to be diluted by amendments from Junts (or the PNV), it would have to decide whether to accept it, risking losing Bildu, Esquerra, or Podemos, with whom it competes fiercely to the left of the PSOE.

The end of the love affair between Fomento and the PSC

There's no decision made within Junts regarding the reduction of working hours, but it's a key debate within the party, both for those who consider themselves more left-wing—who don't want to remain anchored exclusively to the right—and for those who want to consolidate the party as a leader among the business community. Especially now that the romance between Foment del Treball and Salvador Illa's government has ended. While the PSC remains the party of order, its partners in Esquerra and the Comuns have pressured it to take measures that the employers' association hasn't liked, such as the increase in the tourist tax and the property transfer tax. You only have to review Josep Sánchez Llibre's statements this week to see this: he has already openly spoken of a "covert tripartite coalition" that will lead Catalonia to "misery and decline." It's all one. déjà vu from the 2000s.

On Sant Jordi Day, Junts groups were in a frenzy over a tweet: Aleix Clarió, from Puigdemont's entourage, shared a photograph of Xavier Trias and Josep Rius with the announced "Mayor of Barcelona." Considering that Rius is one of the candidates vying to be Junts' candidate in the Catalan capital, it immediately raised eyebrows. So much so that, just six minutes later, Jordi Martí, who also wants to be a candidate, posted an almost identical photo with Trias and also with the announced "Mayor of Barcelona."

This April, parliamentary activity has plummeted to a record low in both Catalonia and Spain. Parliament held only one plenary session, and there were no parliamentary committees during Easter, Sant Jordi, or Sant Marc. In Congress, plenary activity has also been reduced to one plenary session, as the session scheduled for next week was canceled due to the overlap with the European People's Party (PP) congress in Valencia.