Spain mulls move to four-day week
Spain’s leftist government is mulling a radical move to a four-day week and shorter working hours to battle high unemployment, the country’s deputy prime minister has revealed.
Pablo Iglesias, leader of left-wing populists Podemos, said the ministry of labour was “studying” the proposals that were also mulled by Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Iglesias, who heads the junior partner in the coalition government, told broadcaster RTVE that a four-day working week was being considered to help boost job creation. Spain’s unemployment has hit 16pc during the pandemic.
Advocates claim that reducing working hours could make employees more productive and improve worker happiness. However, the idea has never been tested on a large scale and critics have questioned the impact on output, frontline services and many industries where workers need to present, such as retail and hospitality.
Spain has suffered high unemployment since the sovereign debt crisis and an overreliance on temporary contracts.
Pro-business reforms made to Spain's jobs market following the financial crisis were credited by the International Monetary Fund for reducing unemployment and boosting the country's recovery.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell pledged to reduce the average working week to 32 hours within the next decade just months before Labour’s defeat at the 2019 election.
He claimed his plans would mean fewer hours for the same pay but business groups warned it would hurt firms without considerable productivity gains.
On Monday, consumer goods giant Unilever announced that it will trial a four-day working week forits staff in New Zealand for 12 months.
“We believe the old ways of working are outdated and no longer fit for purpose,” said Nick Bangs, its NZ boss.
"It’s very much an experiment. We have made no commitments beyond 12 months and beyond New Zealand. But we think there will be some good learning we can gather in this time."
