Work, Schmit: "The 4-day working week seems like a great idea to me"

"The 4-day working week seems to me to be a very good idea, but it is up to the social partners to decide." Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Labour and Social Rights, supported the hypothesis of a reduction in working hours at the Turin Festival of Economics. "Many companies across Europe, including the UK, have adopted it. There is a study that says that where it has been introduced, absences have decreased, the atmosphere is better and productivity has increased," he noted.

On youth work, Schmit stressed the need for young people not to remain precarious for years. "You don't have to work to stay in poverty, you need adequate and decent wages," the European Commissioner said.

"The minimum wage, especially for poorer jobs, can be a major boost to productivity. You have to shock low-productivity sectors and the minimum wage can help," Schmit said. "We need to invest for workers, give them more skills. The minimum wage can therefore have positive economic outcomes," he added.

In addition, according to the European Commissioner "we must find the right balance between indirect taxation and payroll taxes, we must not discourage people from working". But "we need fiscal justice that must be guaranteed for all social groups. We must not overburden the taxation on wages," he added.