(Feb 4): The Spanish government reached an agreement to reduce the number of workweek hours to 37.5 from 40, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez seeks to capitalise on social policies while struggling with weak support in parliament.

“It’s been more than 41 years since working hours were changed in our country,” Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said on Tuesday after the weekly cabinet meeting. The transformation isn’t just “one more economic or labour variable. It’s a project for the country, a measure which will modernise Spain.”

The proposal will be sent to parliament and it’s expected to take effect at the start of next year.

The cut in working hours was agreed upon between the government and union representatives, while business representatives walked away from the negotiations. The new regulation will benefit some 13 million workers in Spain, according to the unions. Public sector workers and some areas such as education already have 37.5 weekly working hours, and the average number of actual weekly hours worked in Spain is 36.4, according to Eurostat.

“This measure will have a great impact on the entire business world, both large and small companies, and the intention is to facilitate the family and work-life balance and improve productivity,” said Blanca Mercado, a labour lawyer at KPMG Abogados.

If the plan passes in Congress, Spain will be among the European countries with the fewest working hours per week.

Premier Sanchez has set “labour dignity” as one of the government’s priorities “so that all Spaniards work to live, and not live to work”, he’s previously said. The government last week also agreed to raise the minimum wage by 4.4% in 2025, taking the total increase since Sanchez became prime minister to more than 60%.

With the unemployment rate at the lowest level in more than 15 years and the economy as the top performer among the euro area’s biggest members, Sanchez has failed to capitalise politically on that outperformance as he’s been struggling to pass any major laws and parliament hasn’t approved a budget since 2023.

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