Chaos in Spain: Everything stops?

Employers are rejecting it because they are worried about rising costs, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialists are trying to convince businesses to accept a plan to reduce the working week, saying the change will lead to increased productivity, Reuters reported.

Business owners fear the proposal will mean employees work fewer hours for the same pay as before.

Former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, stated in a report, which was made this month for the European Commission, that the EU must bridge the productivity gap between its members to keep pace with economic rivals - the US and China.

Spaniards work more hours than most Europeans and, according to Eurostat, the average working week in Spain was 36.4 hours in 2023 compared to the EU average of 36.1 hours.

In 2000, France introduced a 35-hour work week, expecting it to lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs. But the data shows that there has been an increase in the cost of labor and that companies have become less competitive, according to the British agency.