Spanish working time register reform stalls until September as Yolanda Diaz launches ILO leadership bid

Yolanda Diaz, Spain's second deputy prime minister and labour minister, faces four months of intense international campaigning to convince governments, unions and employers that she is the best candidate to head the International Labour Organization (ILO). Her bid launches just as her domestic reform agenda has stalled, with the government delaying until September the approval of a new working time register designed to crack down on unpaid overtime.

The delayed reform

The working time register was meant to be Diaz's signature measure after the failure of her plan to cut the working week to 37.5 hours. The new regulation would tighten controls on working hours and combat unpaid, unregistered overtime. Diaz had insisted for months that the decree was imminent, telling reporters in May it was in its "final stage" and later that it was "practically ready" and would "see the light as soon as possible."

The State Secretary for Labour, Joaquin Perez Rey, had said the decree would be ready for one of the last cabinet meetings before the summer break. But the text has been bogged down by legal objections from the Council of State, outright opposition from employers at CEOE, and a fundamental clash with the approach of First Vice President Carlos Cuerpo's Ministry of Economy.

Internal government friction

Both ministries confirmed the delay in a joint statement. "Labour and Economy have reached an agreement to process the working time register in September, in order to resolve the objections of the Council of State, something the government has already been working on for some time," the statement said.

Labour and Economy have reached an agreement to process the working time register in September, in order to resolve the objections of the Council of State, something the government has already been working on for some time.

The disagreements between Diaz and Cuerpo are described as so deep that both sides need the summer break before they can resume talks. The unions had warned the vice president they would not negotiate further reforms unless this measure was passed before the summer recess, but that pressure has failed to break the deadlock.

Union frustration and employer relief

Union sources told EL MUNDO that when they issued their ultimatum they already anticipated a scenario where "summer was closing in." At the CEOE employers' federation, the mood is one of relief. Employers do not want a working time register in the form initially proposed and welcome any delay that allows the text to be adapted to the recommendations of the Council of State and the Ministry of Economy.

Diaz's international campaign

The domestic logjam arrives at a difficult moment for Diaz. She is launching a high-level diplomatic campaign to secure the ILO directorship, a UN agency that sets global labour standards. Her pitch leans heavily on her record of tripartite social dialogue in Spain, but the stalled reforms weaken that argument just as she needs it most.

Diaz's reform agenda is losing speed precisely when she needs the endorsement of her record as labour minister and champion of social dialogue. The big tripartite agreements that defined her early tenure now belong to the past, and the government is also facing a new dispute with Brussels that could result in another multi-million-euro fine for Spain.