Together will present a comprehensive amendment to the reduction of working hours... but is open to negotiations

BarcelonaJunts sends a warning to the Spanish government slamming the door on the reduction of the working day. Carles Puigdemont's party will present a comprehensive amendment to the draft law on the 37.5-hour week, which is expected to be approved this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, as a preliminary step to its processing in the Congress of Deputies. Junts spokesperson in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, accompanied by the party's national spokesperson, Josep Rius, announced this Monday at a press conference the decision, which the executive branch has taken unanimously, despite sources familiar with the matter indicating that there has been internal debate. A move that once again the flagship measure of the second vice president and minister of laborYolanda Díaz, who has presented this bill as one of the flagship projects of her government. But why is Junts opting for the amendment? They see the law as a "frontal attack" on small and medium-sized businesses, as well as the self-employed. In any case, they are open to negotiating with the state executive on its content, although so far they regret that they have found "the door closed."

"We would have very much liked for the Spanish government to have negotiated before presenting the law to the Council of Ministers. We found the door closed to the possibility of negotiating this text, even if it was a comma," Nogueras lamented. In this regard, she added that they have only spoken with "Spanish unions" and that "98 percent of the Catalan productive fabric," which is made up of SMEs, has been ignored. "More sanctions put small and medium-sized businesses at risk and do not improve workers' conditions," the Junts leader summarized regarding the law. As currently worded, they see it as "a very difficult law to adopt," also due to "the tightening of digital disconnection" and employee log-ins at work. In their opinion, "SMEs have many problems," and Junts believes this draft "doesn't suit them."

Open path to negotiation

Now, what would have to happen for the law on reduced working hours to be approved? "The Spanish government should be willing to negotiate. It's only tailored to the liking of one side," said Nogueras, who reiterated that "there is no voice from the Catalan employers' association or the Catalan unions." In any case, the regional government is extending its hand for talks that could begin this Tuesday: "We are presenting this tool as a sign of absolute rejection of this law, and we'll see if the Spanish government is willing to negotiate or not," the leader explained in Madrid.

Internally, however, there are already warnings that there will be no last-minute negotiations for the party to withdraw the amendment altogether, and knowledgeable sources add that the Spanish government has known for "days" that they will present the amendment. They attribute Tuesday's vote in the Cabinet to Díaz's haste, who they believe wants to boast about the measure. With Monday's announcement, the paths for negotiation may open, but "there is also the possibility that this amendment will be approved," Nogueras warned, since for now there is no majority in Congress to endorse the reduction in working hours. On the other hand, sources from the Ministry of Labor emphasize that "the amendment is also a tool for negotiation that has been raised on other occasions." Therefore, the ministry points out that it has always expressed its "willingness to negotiate in Congress" with "the utmost respect" and that they will work "firmly" to reach an agreement.

One week late

The The reduction in working hours was supposed to have been voted on at last week's Council of Ministers., but the massive blackout turned the state executive's plans upside down. Pimec has been one of the most insistent actors against this rule. warning that "it cannot be approved" because it negatively affects small and medium-sized businesses, in their opinion. Catalan business organizations have pushed for the law to be changed and even demanded that it be amended entirely if its wording was not modified.

In fact, the path of this law has been tortuous from the beginning, with public clashes between Díaz and ministers such as the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, for the implementation of the reduction in working hours. The fine print has been met with disagreement from the Socialist bloc, while Sumar has pushed to expedite the measure's approval.