The Spanish government is moving forward with a plan to reduce the working week, Luxembourg Times reports.
The cabinet will discuss the proposal on Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a speech at a business event in Barcelona on Monday. Proposals are generally approved by the cabinet before being sent to parliament.
The bill faces a lengthy approval process in parliament, where it is far from certain that it will receive sufficient support from lawmakers. Sánchez relies on a coalition of allies that includes several left-wing parties that support a shorter working week, as well as two pro-business groups.
One of Sánchez’s former allies in parliament, the pro-Catalan separatist group Junts, has repeatedly stated that it does not support reducing the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours.
The plan to reduce the working week is the brainchild of Yolanda Diaz, the labour minister who heads the junior coalition party Sumar. Diaz’s initial proposal was first discussed by the cabinet in February.
