Yolanda Díaz Seeks Urgent Meeting with Carlos Cuerpo Over Proposed Workday Reduction
Yolanda Díaz, the Spanish Minister of Labor and leader of the Sumar party, is pushing for an urgent meeting with Carlos Cuerpo, the Minister of Economy, to discuss the recent blockage of the emergency processing for the reduction of the working day. Díaz has sent a letter to Cuerpo, expressing her eagerness to meet as soon as possible—potentially even today.
This meeting comes after Díaz's claims that the Ministry of Economy hindered progress on the social dialogue agreement regarding the reduction of the working day, which is a cornerstone of the coalition government’s commitments. Díaz has insisted that government agreements should be regarded as sacred, emphasizing her intention to convey these sentiments to Cuerpo during their discussions.
In response, the Ministry of Economy stated that while today is focused on housing discussions, Cuerpo is more than willing to hold as many meetings as needed to find common ground on the workday reduction initiative.
Díaz had previously accused Cuerpo of blocking urgent processing that would have allowed this matter to be addressed during the upcoming Council of Ministers meeting. She pointed out that written responses from the Ministry of Economy indicated that discussions of the social dialogue agreement were being stalled.
Cuerpo has denied these allegations, asserting that no texts are being withheld from the Council of Ministers, and stressed the importance of obtaining government endorsement for any proposed legislation. He emphasizes that the matter is currently under inter-ministerial discussions and that extensive coordination is required to set a meeting date.
Díaz’s push for urgency comes after over eleven months of negotiations at the social dialogue table, during which the business sector withdrew from discussions. Under the coalition agreement between PSOE and Sumar, Díaz reported that a reduction to a 37.5-hour workweek was signed into effect by the Ministry of Labor in conjunction with labor unions.
Sumar remains wary that Cuerpo’s actions may be aimed at delaying the implementation of this measure. The Minister of Economy has suggested that it may be prudent to involve business leaders in the conversation, hinting at a potential postponement of the initiative until 2026, a proposal that received positive feedback from CEOE president Antonio Garamendi.
As the situation unfolds, all eyes are on the forthcoming meeting between Díaz and Cuerpo, as the resolution of this key labor issue is crucial in fostering a more equitable working environment in Spain.
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