Unions UGT and CC.OO call for the withdrawal of proposed amendments to the legislation on shortened workweek by parties Junts, PP, and Vox.

The reduction in working hours from 40 to 37.5 hours is set to be debated and voted on in the Congress of Deputies this Wednesday, a move that has sparked a wave of protests and political debate across Spain.

The Council of Ministers approved the bill last June and sent it to the Congress of Deputies, where it is now under scrutiny. However, the employers' association, CEOE, has rejected this initiative, dropping out of the negotiating table.

The unions UGT and Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO.) have demanded that Junts, the Popular Party (PP), and Vox withdraw their amendments to the bill. The leader of CC.OO. insists that any amendment passing would be a democratic fraud.

The Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has defended that the reduction in working hours will indeed take place, describing it as a "law of justice" and a "claim" that is not only majority-supported by society, but also crosses party lines, including those that presented amendments.

The leader of CC.OO. also emphasized that the reduction in working hours would significantly improve the lives of 12 million people in Spain, with a special focus on working women and those with lower salaries.

Junts, the Popular Party (PP), and Vox are waiting for Junts to lift the barrier before the government obtains the sufficient majority. The 'populars' criticized that the bill had been approved "outside of social dialogue", while Junts called for a "real and rigorous" debate within social dialogue.

The UGT leader, Álvarez, appealed to the "responsibility" of deputies towards citizens regarding the reduction in working hours. Meanwhile, the leader of CC.OO. criticized that these three formations aim to erase the bill aimed at improving the lives of 12 million workers with their three amendments.

The reduction in hours was agreed upon in December 2024 between the Ministry of Labor and the unions CC.OO. and UGT, after a year of negotiations. If any of the amendments to the whole obtains a majority, the unions will demand a new bill to address working hours and time and the regulation of hourly control.

Protests will take place in various cities across Spain throughout the morning, with a gathering at 4:00 PM in Madrid's Plaza de Las Cortes. According to polls, within Junts, 72% of voters are "in favor or very in favor" of the reduction in working hours.

This Wednesday, April 27, 2022, there is no information in the provided search results about which parties in the Congress of Deputies submitted amendments or supported amendments regarding the law to reduce working weeks to 37.5 hours. The outcome of this historic vote remains to be seen.

Unions UGT and CC.OO call for the withdrawal of proposed amendments to the legislation on shortened workweek by parties Junts, PP, and Vox.