Álvarez (UGT) believes that "it will not be easy" to agree with CEOE on the reduction of working hours on an annual basis

MADRID, 8 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The general secretary of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, stated this Thursday that "it is not going to be easy" to agree with the CEOE on how much the 37.5-hour work week is equivalent to, in annual calculation.

In statements to the press after attending the intervention of the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, at the 'Europa Press Informative Breakfasts', the leader of UGT has revealed that unions and employers have already held their first meeting bipartite to address the reduction of the weekly working day, which the Government wants to put at 38.5 hours this year and 37.5 hours in 2025.

Álvarez has indicated that it is on the table to agree with business organizations to reduce working hours on an annual basis, not a weekly basis, and although he believes that "it is not that difficult" to agree on this, he does see it as more complicated to agree on what number it would be equivalent to. the week of 37.5 hours in annual work.

"It is an issue that we have talked about and I think it is not that difficult to reach agreements. Another thing is to reach agreements in relation to how many annual hours the 37.5 hours represent, which will not be so simple, because the annual calculation depends on how , gives one result or gives another. And, therefore, this is a topic that, even if you can reach agreement or agree, will surely require deeper debates," he noted.

In any case, the leader of UGT has made it clear that, in this negotiation with the employers' associations, there will not be an agreement "from issue to issue", but rather a "global" agreement in relation to the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours. committed by the Government in its political program. "We are not going to have an agreement today, another tomorrow and another the day after," he stressed.