Díaz will postpone the debate on reducing working hours so that it can take place "under calm conditions."

Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz , has stated that her Ministry has decided to postpone the debate in Congress on reducing the working week to 37.5 hours until the next session so that it can take place under "calm conditions."

This was stated in an interview on 'La Hora de la 1' reported by Europa Press after ministerial sources indicated yesterday that the debate on the amendments to the whole that Labour wanted to hold on July 22 will be postponed due to the political climate , following the alleged cases of corruption within the PSOE, and because the Catalan party Junts has asked Díaz's Department for more time to continue negotiating the measure.

On the matter, Junts later clarified that it had not expressly requested that the full debate on the reduction of working hours be postponed until after the summer, and that it was the Ministry of Labor that decided not to include it on the agenda for the Congressional Plenary Session scheduled for next week, having noted that it lacked the support to move forward with that initial process.

When asked about Junts' position, the Minister of Labor stated that they are working with the Catalan party on support measures for small and medium-sized businesses. These measures were put on the table during negotiations with employers and social partners, but were ultimately not included in the agreement between the government and the unions CCOO and UGT because CEOE and Cepyme did not join the agreement.

"There's no experience in the world, none that doesn't segment self-employed workers and small businesses. If you're self-employed or a small business, or my colleagues in the office, who have a small business, know that it's not the same, that you're going to need support," Díaz explained.

The second vice president also insisted that the decision to postpone debate on the entire bill is due to the fact that, after more than 40 years without reducing working hours, the debate must take place in "calm conditions." "I want this to move forward," she stated.

Díaz asserted that she remains "optimistic" about the agreement because the reduction in working hours is a measure that affects 12.5 million people in Spain and is the measure "most valued" by all citizens, "regardless of who they vote for." "It's a measure that also gives hope for life," she emphasized.

The Minister of Labor has pointed out that the reduction in working hours to 37.5 hours is almost complete, as the average workday is 38.2 hours and productivity needs to be spread out.

"These aren't my father's times. Agriculture today isn't like it was in the 20th century, neither you nor I. There's technology, there's sufficient wealth, and, furthermore, the benefits of these small changes, I believe, are what help us heal some of the social malaise," he concluded.