Spain could become one of the first countries in the world to experience the four-day work week after the government agreed to launch a modest pilot project for companies interested in the idea.
Earlier this year, the small leftist Spanish party Más País announced that the government had accepted his proposal to test the idea. Since then, negotiations have been held, with the next meeting scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.
“With the four-day work week (32 hours), we are launching ourselves into the real debate of our times”, said Iñigo Errejón do Más País on twitter. “It is an idea whose time has come.”
From New Zealand to Germany, the idea has been gaining ground globally. Acclaimed by its proponents as a means of increasing productivity, improving workers’ mental health and combating climate change, the proposal has taken on a new meaning as the pandemic sharpens issues around well-being, exhaustion and work-life balance. personal life.
Left-wing parties in Spain – where a 44-day strike in Barcelona in 1919 resulted in the country becoming one of the first in Western Europe to adopt the eight-hour workday – clung to the idea. “Spain is one of the countries where workers work more hours than the European average. But we are not among the most productive countries, ”said Errejón. “I claim that working more hours does not mean working better.”
While the exact details of the pilot will be discussed with the government, his party has proposed a three-year € 50 million project that would allow companies to test reduced hours with minimal risk. The costs of a company incursion in the four-day workweek, for example, could be covered by 100% in the first year, 50% in the second year and 33% in the third year.
“With these numbers, we calculated that we could have around 200 companies participating, with a total of about 3,000 to 6,000 workers,” said Héctor Tejero, from Más País. “The only red lines are that we want to see a real reduction in hours of work. work and no loss of wages or jobs. ”
Tejero estimated that the pilot could start as early as the fall, initiating the first national initiative to reduce the workday since France started moving to limit the workweek to 35 hours in 1998. “Spain will be the first country to do a test of this magnitude, ”said Tejero. “A pilot project like this has not been carried out anywhere in the world.”
The party suggested that the pilot be guided by a panel of experts – including government representatives, workers’ unions and business lobbies – who will also help analyze the results.
What Más País expects to see is an echo of the experience of Software Delsol, the southern Spanish company that last year became the first in the country to implement a four-day work week. “They saw a reduction in absenteeism, productivity has increased and workers say they are happier,” said Tejero.
A source at the Spanish Ministry of Industry said that negotiations on the pilot project are in their early stages. Right now everything is up for debate, from the cost of the pilot to the number of companies involved and the schedule, he added.
The idea has faced opposition in some sectors, with one of the leaders of the country’s main business associations calling it “madness” after the country’s worst recession since the civil war. “Getting out of this crisis requires more work, not less,” said Ricardo Mur, of the CEOE, at a forum in December.
As Spain progresses with the inexperienced driver, his progress is being closely monitored in the UK and around the world. “My understanding is that this would be the first national level driver in the four-day week,” said Joe Ryle of the 4-Day Week Campaign. “We ask governments around the world to follow the Spanish example in preparing the way for the four-day work week.”
He described the reduction in working hours as very late. “It is evident that the way we work is leaving people stressed, exhausted, overworked and causing huge mental health and workplace problems,” he said. “The four-day week would be good for the economy, good for workers and good for the environment. What’s not to like about it? “