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Spanish government to fight unpaid overtime with new algorithm

The Local (news@thelocal.com)
The Local ([email protected])
Spanish government to fight unpaid overtime with new algorithm
The Spanish government wants to tackle unpaid overtime, which especially affects the hospitality and construction industries. Photo by Cesar Manso/AFP

Spain's vice-president and labour minister Yolanda Díaz has announced a new measure to stop work hours from going unpaid.

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In the government's latest move to tackle unpaid overtime, Spain's second vice-president and labour minister announced on Friday that "a new algorithm to control overtime from the Labour Inspection" will be created "in the next few days".

According to the latest poll Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA), Spaniards worked 27 million extra hours per month or 6.6 million a week in the first quarter of 2022. Forty-four per cent of those overtime hours are not paid at all.

"This is unacceptable", said Díaz, who was attending a forum to discuss labour. While she added that the figures were at their lowest since 2011, she said "I will not be content with this."

In order to reduce this "excessive" number of unpaid hours, Díaz said the government would use artificial intelligence, but didn't give further details on the algorithm, which is expected to be unveiled in the coming days.

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READ ALSO: Why working overtime in Spain isn't worth it

Spain's Worker Regulations state that extra work hours are voluntary except in the case of an emergency at work such as an accident or crisis. However, many Spanish employees feel they can't oppose overtime through fear they'll be fired.

In 2019, the Spanish government introduced new "clocking in" measures forcing companies to record the working hours of employees. The law was designed to "help correct the situation of precariousness, low salaries and poverty that affects many workers who suffer abuse in their working day," according to the working of the decree.

The measure also aimed to uncover excess hours worked by those in the hospitality and construction sector, which is where exploitation is mostly concentrated.

READ ALSO:EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Spain's new clocking-in laws for workers

At a forum on labour law in Valencia on Friday, Díaz also spoke about the gender pay gap in this issue. While men make up the majority of people working overtime, women make up a majority of those who are not paid for this extra work.

She also called for a redistribution of worker's time in order to tackle the low productivity, which in Spain is the lowest in the European Union. 

 

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