Spain To Increase Working Hours Of Public Employees
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Public employees in Spain may soon have their workdays extended by a few hours each day, reported the Wall Street Journal on Monday, with the government looking to boost efficiency and productivity in the public sector amid the current budget crunch.
The Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro was speaking at an event organised by a local university when he announced the latest government proposal, which would put public sector working hours on a similar standing as those of the private sector.
Public employees in Spain may soon have their workdays extended by a few hours each day, reported the Wall Street Journal on Monday, with the government looking to boost efficiency and productivity in the public sector amid the current budget crunch.
The Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro was speaking at an event organised by a local university when he announced the latest government proposal, which would put public sector working hours on a similar standing as those of the private sector.
[quote]”What we are going to do is make the workday for public officials similar to the existing workday for the private sector…That is the road we are on,” said Montoro.[/quote]Additionally, the Budget Minister also claimed that an overhaul of the public sector was in the pipeline, with further emphasis expected to be placed on employee performance evaluations.
Presently, Spain’s public workers end their workdays sometime in the early afternoon, with some government institutions known to close by 2pm during the summer period.
Comparatively, the private sector in Spain has one of the longest working hours in Europe, according to the Eurostat Labour Force Survey, with the average employee working an average of 38.5 hours per week.
By closing the gap between the working hours of the private and public sector, Montoro hopes that the government can maximise their employees’ salaries and boost public efficiency in the process.
Montoro’s comments also come just as eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels late on Monday, who granted Spain an extra year to reach its deficit targets in exchange for further budget savings.
Though news reports emanating from the meeting on Monday claimed that the EU might lessen Spain’s budget-deficit target for 2012 from 5.3 to 6.3 percent, most analysts believe that Spain will still need to implement additional budget cuts to meet the new goal.
Related: Spain Announces ‘Most Austere’ Budget Cuts Since 1977
Related: Spain Eyes University Fee Hike To Cut Budget Deficit
Related: Students & Teachers Unite Against Education Cuts In Spain
According to a Reuters report, the Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos is expected to spell out to finance ministers his government’s plan for a 30 billion euros package of spending cuts and tax hikes this Wednesday, with 10 billion euros in cuts likely to come this year from a hike in VAT sales tax, reduced social security payments, reduced unemployment benefits and changes to pensions calculations.
At the sidelines of his event, the Budget Minister Montoro also said that it was important for European countries to adhere to agreements already reached.
[quote]”It’s time to create a strong, unified Europe,” he said. “When we make decisions, those decisions are clearly arduous, because we are countries with different policies…but what Europe has shown is that it is a project for integration.”[/quote]
