A failed day

The reform of the working day arrives in Congress with its fate already written: it's dead. Junts has announced its vote against it and joins the PP and Vox in ensuring that the proposal doesn't even make it past the admission process. There will be no in-depth debate, no possibility of amendments, and no parliamentary negotiation. And although Yolanda Díaz's party blames others for the failure, there is a fundamental error that cannot be ignored, given the lack of involvement of business leaders from the outset.

Reducing the working week to 37.5 hours without losing pay is a proposal with enormous economic, organizational, and labor impact that directly affects twelve million workers, but also thousands of employers who must organize shifts, restructure costs, and plan production. Trying to pass a reform of this magnitude without a prior social pact, and doing so only with the unions and without employers feeling heard, would open the door to political deadlock.

Sumar loses credibility in its brand of social reforms

Sumar hoped that pressure from the streets, with mobilized unions, would overcome resistance. But in a fragmented Congress, where every vote is decisive, this was difficult. Díaz's entourage has been negotiating for months with the post-Convergent parties and, directly, with Puigdemont, and even assumed they would overcome this reluctance. Sumar brandished the letter from the meeting between Díaz and the Junts leader two years ago as a sign of good rapport. The vice president was the first to travel to Brussels to politically "rehabilitate" the former president and establish a "normalized and stable relationship between the two parties," but it didn't work.

Junts argues that the reform jeopardizes the viability of small and medium-sized Catalan businesses—pressure from PIMEC and Foment del Treball played a decisive role in convincing Puigdemont—and questions the lack of proposals guaranteeing wage increases. In short, they believe the unique nature of Catalonia's productive fabric is not taken into account and argue that the government is rushing to approve a reform that was not yet mature.

The consequence is that one of Sumar's flagship promises—and one of the few flags it could wave before its electorate—will fall without discussion. The political blow to the confederal coalition, which is losing credibility in its brand of social reforms, is evident, even though Díaz announces that she will reintroduce it and, if necessary, advance some aspects by decree, such as tightening time control.