The PNV will vote “yes” to reducing the working day to 37 and a half hours, when the Government takes the law to the Congress of Deputies. “Yes, in principle we would vote yes,” the president of the PNV EBB, Andoni Ortuzar, stated this Tuesday in an interview on La Hora de la 1, on TVE.
In response to questions from journalist Silvia Intxaurrondo, Ortuzar clarified the meaning of the vote of the PNV, one of the Government’s partners in Parliament, with a view to the future vote on this legislation. This is one of the key commitments of the legislature of the PSOE and Sumar coalition: reducing the legal working day from the current maximum of 40 hours per week to 37 and a half hours per week in 2025.
In such a complex context of parliamentary arithmetic, in which the Government depends on many political formations to be able to legislate, the announcement of the PNV’s support for regulation is very relevant.
Because it ensures the “yes” to the rule of its five deputies in Parliament and, furthermore, because it clears up any doubts that may have arisen about the meaning of their vote, as the PNV is a conservative party with important links to the business world. For the moment, the CEOE employers’ association opposes regulating this issue and insists that it be addressed only in collective bargaining.
Limited incidence in Euskadi
Ortuzar has pointed out that in Euskadi, “removing a few sectors, most of the labor network already has that day via collective agreements”, except hospitality or commerce, “which are logically important”, reports the Europa Press agency.
“In industry, in public or parapublic services, the 37 and a half hour day is already a fact, it is a reality in our country. Therefore, for us the acceptance of this measure is not a drama,” he added.
However, Ortuzar has considered that, first, “it must be left to the capacity for agreement between social agents.” “It is better that these things come, rather than regulated by law, by labor agreements, social agreements between employers and unions,” he stressed, adding however that, in principle, they would vote yes to the reduction of the working day in the Congress.
The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, launched this Monday an ultimatum to employers, with a last offer of direct aid to companies smaller, with less than five employees. As he warned last week, Díaz reiterated to the CEOE that the aid will only take place if employers agree to reduce working hours at the social dialogue table. If they withdraw from an agreement, so will the aid.
The head of Labor insisted this Tuesday that “there is room for a social agreement,” also in an interview on La Hora de la 1. Díaz urged the CEOE to “make up its mind,” since the negotiation is “in the exit lane” after nine months since the opening of the dialogue table. “We are in the final section of the table,” the vice president reiterated.
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