The Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB) has expressed its strong opposition to the reduction of the working week to 37.5 hours, a measure approved yesterday by the Government without the support of the Social Dialogue Table. According to the employers’ organisation, this decision represents “an intrusion into the autonomy of collective bargaining enshrined in the Constitution“, said its president, Carmen Planas.

Carmen Planas CAEB

Carmen Planas, president of the Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands. Photo: CAEB.

CAEB denounces that the new regulation, which alters aspects traditionally governed by collective agreements, has been implemented without any prior study of its consequences. “It will affect 75% of the labour market, except for large companies, which already operate at 37.5 hours,” warns Planas. The confederation points out that this legal imposition adds pressure to companies already burdened by the rise in the Minimum Wage and social security contributions, which were already reducing productivity, as shown by a 3.8% drop over the past five years.

Specific context in the Balearic Islands

The confederation stresses that the decision to reduce the working week has been taken without considering the specific characteristics of the business landscape in each region. CAEB’s president notes that the Balearic economy is primarily based on the service sector, with a high number of businesses that rely on in-person work. “This, combined with the shortage of both skilled and unskilled labour, often makes it impossible to adapt working hours under a rigid and imposed regulation,” she explains. “Working time regulation should be addressed sector by sector and company by company, analysing whether there is room for productivity and assessing the organisational needs of the employer,” Planas emphasises.

In her view, this measure undermines a key pillar of labour relations in Spain: collective bargaining, which has been fundamental in maintaining social peace over the past 40 years. She also warns of the immediate consequences of approving this law, stating that it “forces many businesses, especially SMEs and the self-employed, into a forced reorganisation that will push their organisational capacity and survival to the limit.”

Furthermore, Planas points out that the measure is already affecting the negotiation of key sectoral agreements in the islands. “We are already seeing how it is complicating the negotiation of collective agreements as important as that of the hospitality sector in the Balearic Islands, which is currently being negotiated.”

Finally, CAEB, aligned with CEOE and CEPYME, hopes that “the parliamentary process will take these issues into account and provide an adequate economic impact assessment,” the statement concludes.