Unions will lead protests across Spain today in a bid to force a government-business deal to cut working hours amid opposition from employers who worry it will make their workers “more expensive”.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists are seeking to persuade businesses to invest in a plan to cut working days by 2.5 hours from the current 40, which they say will boost productivity.

The European Union must bridge the productivity gap between its member countries to keep pace with its economic rivals, the US and China, as the former head of the European Central Bank recently said in a report on behalf of the European Commission. Bank, Mario Draghi.

To secure the support of employers the government has offered a recruitment bonus for small businesses with fewer than ten employees to offset the reduction in working hours while maintaining the same level of service, according to a source involved in the negotiations.

Madrid can approve the reduction without unanimity and according to a senior government source it will do so before the end of 2024.

The proposal calculates the workweek on an annual basis, so workers in sectors where it is difficult to adjust shifts — such as the hospitality industry — would be able to accumulate working hours which would later be “cashed in” in the form of leave.

Spaniards work longer hours than the majority of Europeans.

According to Eurostat, average working days in Spain were 36.4 hours per week in 2023, compared to the EU average of 36.1 hours.

The country’s labor minister, Yolanda Diaz, has said that reducing working hours will increase productivity, an area in which Spain has traditionally lagged behind its European partners.

Business owners fear the proposal will mean their employees will work fewer hours for the same pay.

The impact of similar measures in other countries is not clear.

In 2000, France introduced a 35-hour work week in the belief that this would create hundreds of thousands of jobs. However, the figures show a rise in labor costs making French workers more highly paid, in relative terms, and businesses less competitive.