Spain fears that productivity will fall to the level of Portugal and Greece with the shortening of the working week

There is a risk that the average productivity of Spanish workers could fall, in the medium and long term, to the levels of Portugal and Greece if the measure that expects the working week to be reduced to 37.5 hours goes ahead, warn experts consulted by Parliament. “The Economist“.

The plan falls within the framework of the agreement to form a left-wing coalition between the Spanish Socialist Party, led by Pedro Sanchez, and the left-wing Somar Party, headed by Yolanda Diaz.

Looking at the graph prepared by the Spanish newspaper, it is possible to see that Greece (70.4 points) and Portugal (75.7 points) are the two worst countries in terms of worker performance among the main countries that are part of the eurozone. Spain is slightly ahead with a score of 94.6 points, below the average for member states of the single currency (104.1 points).

The setback for the neighboring country could reach a worrying level for the Greek economy – and therefore for Portugal – due to “the loss of two additional places in the community ranking” if the 37.5-hour week proposal is implemented, according to the economist’s forecasts. Miguel Angel Bernal, co-founder of financial services firm Bernal & Sanz Bujanda.

The analysis, which excludes the economic characteristics of the Baltic region, concludes that the problem of under-productivity in Spain’s labor market, which has persisted for more than two decades, could worsen, especially because it is an economy highly dependent on small and medium-sized enterprises. Large-sized companies, companies (SMEs) and the third sector (services).

Yesterday, it became known that Spain’s GDP slowed in the third quarter of this year, growing by just 0.3%, a tenth of a percentage point lower than in the previous three months.