Spain’s prime minister wants to shorten the working day — by saying adios to the siesta.
A typical Spanish worker now checks in at about 10 a.m., takes a two-hour mid-afternoon snooze, and then clocks out around 8 p.m.
But center-right PM Mariano Rajoy wants to get rid of nap-time, and make Spain more like its European counterparts.
“I will find a consensus to make sure the working day ends at 6 p.m.,” declared Rajoy.
The Spanish siesta has been in place for centuries, since before the Industrial Revolution when workers needed an hours-long break to take cover from the day’s hottest hours.
But Spanish workers’ average productivity is much lower than in places such as Germany, a Spanish parliamentary commission said in a 2013 report.
Over the years, modern Spaniards across the political spectrum have pushed Madrid to align their workday with other European nations.
Rajoy’s support is seen as an attempt to curry favor with voters ahead of the general election in June, the Independent reported.
The move could have a widespread impact on all Spanish life.
Prime-time television now runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. in Spain. Midweek soccer matches, in Spain’s La Liga, typically kick off at 8:30 p.m.
Rajoy also wants to bring Spain back to Greenwich Mean Time.
Even though Spain is directly south of England, it’s been an hour ahead of GMT for more than seven decades.
The time change dates to when Generalissimo Francisco Franco ordered the nation’s clocks put forward in a symbol of unity with Nazi Germany.



