Minister Negueruela opposed to change to Greenwich Mean Time.

Minister Negueruela opposed to change to Greenwich Mean Time. | Joan Torres

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma28/05/2016 00:00
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A change to Greenwich Mean Time from Central European Time has been debated for some years in Spain. Geographically, it would make sense for Spain to share the same system of time as the UK and Portugal given that mostly all of the country lies to the west of the Greenwich Meridian. The acting government of the Partido Popular is in favour of the change, as are PSOE and Ciudadanos. Along with other measures, it is believed that the change would help to rationalise working hours.

However, the support is not universal, especially in the Balearic Islands, which lie to the east of the Meridian and are therefore more suited to the time system as at present. A Podemos parliamentary deputy, Baltasar Picornell, has raised the matter with the regional employment minister, Iago Negueruela. Both agree that the current system should remain as it is. For Negueruela it is an "electioneering" ploy by the Rajoy administration. The minister believes that if there is to be adjustment of working hours, this needs to come via labour reform.

The president of the Majorca Hoteliers Federation, Inmaculada Benito, thinks that the change would be "bad news" for the Balearics. The islands base part of their competitiveness, she argues, on the hours that can be spent outdoors and therefore under the sun. Various activities would be affected, she notes. These would include cycling, golf and sailing. Podemos agrees with the hoteliers (for once) and so do some representatives of CAEB, the Confederation of Balearic Business Associations. It recognises that there isn't unanimity on the subject. Some sectors of the economy would benefit, but CAEB feels that greater benefits would accrue from keeping things as they are.

Another business grouping, Pimem (small to medium-sized businesses), takes a differing view. Its president, Antoni Mas, believes that a change would be positive as it would increase competitiveness and export capacity.

The main unions, the CCOO and UGT, concur with Negueruela in saying that there are other priorities for the labour market. Neither union is fundamentally opposed to a change but both are insisting that it would have to be agreed to through a process of collective bargaining.