After reduction of working hours in Belgium, no European country plans to follow suit

With information from EFE

Belgium’s decision to allow the workweek to be concentrated in four days brings the debate on reducing the working day to 32 hours a week back to the present, without any major European countries currently having any legislative initiative underway about.

The decision adopted by the Belgian Government does not imply a reduction in the working day, but rather a flexible schedule that will allow three days off a week to be combined if working hours are concentrated in four days or to group more working hours in one week to have more time. free to the next.

For example, the basic workweek in France it is 35 hours, although reducing it to four days a week is possible with a company agreement signed by the unions; although it is far from receiving unanimous support.

The Minister of Labor, Élisabeth Borne, highlighted this month that the Executive is not in favor of generalizing it, although it defends it as an individual option for each company and not as something that the authorities must impose. Left-wing candidates such as Jean-Luc Mélenchon or the communist Fabien Roussel propose the 32-hour work week, while on the right the motto “work more to earn more” is still current.

For its part, the Parliament of Greece approved last year a labor reform that in theory allows a reduction of the week to four days, but without cutting the 40 mandatory hours.

If the employer and the worker reach an agreement, it is possible to work ten hours a day, or work one day less or recover the extra hours at another time. The bill also extended the annual overtime allowed, to some 150 compared to between 90 and 120 previously, depending on the sector.

Labor reform in the UK

At United Kingdommore than thirty British companies will start a six-month pilot program in June in which their employees will work 32 hours a week spread over four shifts.

The test is promoted by the British branch of the international campaign “4 Day Week” (“Week of 4 Days”), the laboratory of ideas Autonomy and researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, among other centers, who will try to verify if employees can deliver close to 100% productivity using 80% of the time.

On Irelandtwenty companies have joined the “4 Day Week” campaign to establish a weekly work regime with reduced hours that does not imply a reduction in wages for six months.

At the moment, the Irish Government has no plans to concentrate the working week into four days by law, but certain sectors, such as the National Health Service (HSE), offer some professionals the possibility of dividing the mandatory 40 hours per week of work between on Monday and Friday.

Germany, Portugal and Italy

“On Germany there are no plans to legally introduce the four-day week. The decisions on how working time is distributed are left by the Constitution in the hands of companies and workers,” a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Labor told EFE.

In Bavaria (south of the country) there are companies that are experimenting with the four-day week, which has earned praise from the metal union IG Metal, while the employers are more skeptical due to the cost involved and the current shortage of staff specialized in some areas.

Meanwhile, in Portugalthe four-day working week has entered the public debate after the Socialist Party included it in its electoral program —for certain sectors— for the legislative elections on January 30, which they won with an absolute majority.

Until António Costa forms a government and presents his program —which is expected in April— it will not be known with certainty if he intends to advance with this proposal and under what conditions.

The largest union in the country, the General Commission of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), defends that progress must be made with other types of measures such as the reduction to 35 hours per week, rather than the number of days, while the employers consider that it is not the moment of this debate for the Portuguese economy.

Finally, in Italywhere most employees work between 36 and 40 hours per week, depending on the sector, spread over five days, there is also debate about whether four-day workweeks would increase productivity.

One of its biggest supporters is the founder of the 5 Star Movement (M5S), Beppe Grillo, who has been advocating for years to reduce hours while maintaining wages, while few companies in Italy have already opted for this model. EFE