Foment opposes the “general reduction by law” of the working day and warns of the “costs” for companies

ACN Barcelona – Foment rejects a “general and by law” reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours a week, a proposal adopted by PSOE and Sumar. The Catalan employers’ association warns of the risks of the measure, which would lead to “additional costs for companies, employment of more people and more overtime”. This has been assured in a video released to the press by the labor director of Foment, Javier Ibars. “In principle, we are not against a reduction of the working day”, he said, pointing out that what they reject is that it should be done “uniformly” in all sectors. According to Foment, the alternative is a “reorganization and flexibility of working hours”, with measures such as continuous working hours or less time for lunch.

Foment defends that in Catalonia there are already “many collective agreements” with “very significant” reductions in working hours. “We are well below 40 hours on average”, Ibars said, adding that further reducing the working day would have “a very important impact”, especially for SMEs.

In that sense, the Catalan employers’ association has defended that the measure must in any case be negotiated within the framework of social dialogue and collective bargaining. “You can start working this way”, said Ibars.