With the return to the discussion of the labor reform project in the Mexican Congress, the Aztec country would join a historical trend inaugurated by Ecuador, Chile and Colombia.
The working day has been an important matter of social achievements throughout history. During the last century, reaching eight hours a day in Latin American countries materialized through demands and protests from broad sectors of society. However, generations passed and with them, new demands arose.
In this way, the 48-hour work week began to be seen as arbitrary, because it contemplated the inclusion of Saturday as a mandatory work day. This is a reality that appears outdated when compared to the experiments of European countries. For example, in mid-September, 50 German companies agreed to participate in a pilot scheme that establishes a 32-hour work week, which includes only four days. Likewise, for more than six decades, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has recommended that working 40 hours a week is the most ideal scenario.
SCOPES AND OBSTACLES OF THE MEXICAN PROJECT
In contrast, the Mexican Congress is preparing a project to reduce the working day from 48 to 40 hours per week. This is a measure that has the support of the workforce, as well as the opposition of SMEs and business organizations. Whatever the position, the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico is processing the change of Article 123 of the Political Constitution, the basis of the Federal Labor Law. In this way, the working day will be reduced, marking the first time that an initiative of this type was approved since the Mexican Revolution in 1917.
Last Tuesday, the project entered a new phase, after the Chamber of Deputies decided to convene an Open Parliament to discuss the effects that the reduction of working hours will have in the legal field. This figure does not imply a paralysis of the project, but rather a review before the initiative is transferred to the Plenary Session of the Mexican Lower House to be discussed and thus finally approved or rejected. However, the Mexican Senate has not yet ruled on the measure. This silence could lead to an eventual refusal, something that already happened in the Lower House last April. At that time, the Plenary of Deputies itself rejected the debate on the labor reform, presented by the ruling MORENA party, without even reviewing the document.
ECUADOR AND CHILE: PIONEERS IN DIFFERENT TIMES
If the reduction of the working day to 40 hours per week is finally approved, Mexico would become the third country in Latin America to approve this momentous measure. The first to take the leap was Ecuador. It is surprising to know that the Congress of the South American country approved the reduction of the work week from 44 to 40 hours in 1980. The initiative was finally ratified in 1997 with the introduction of a new Labor Code. In the document, it was established that the maximum working day was eight hours a day so that it did not exceed 40 hours a week, except as otherwise provided by law.
On the other hand, if we compare the official working day with the number of hours of effective work, Ecuador also comes out well: there, employees work an average of 34.5 hours per week and is only surpassed by Panama, a country where they work about 34. .1 hours. The other side of the coin is represented by Mexico: the Aztec country registers 42.1 hours per week of effective work and in Latin America, it occupies second place after El Salvador (43.4 hours per week).
If we look to analyze recent labor reforms, Chile stands out. In April 2023, the bicameral Congress gave the green light to the proposal to reduce the weekly work day from 45 to 40 hours. This is not an immediate proposal: working hours will be gradually reduced over a period of five years: By 2024, the working day will decrease to 44 hours per week; In 2026, the limit will be 42 hours and finally, in 2028, the goal of 40 hours will be reached. The reform law, approved unanimously in the Chilean Senate, contemplates the possibility of working four days and resting three. In comparison, the current law imposes a minimum quota of five business days.
Likewise, the project includes the possibility of working a maximum of five extra hours per week, while today up to 12 can be covered. Another important difference is that the reform will allow employers to organize working time in compressed weeks. In this way, it opens the way to a format of four work days and three rest days, with 10-hour days per day. Along the same lines, differentiated entry and exit times are included for parents of children under 12 years of age and a bank of overtime hours to be exchanged for additional days of rest. All these figures may be approved by prior common agreement with the employees.
On the other hand, as in Ecuador, the effective working day in Chile is also on the positive podium of the region: the southern country reaches about 36.8 working hours per week, placing it in fifth place in the ILO ranking. A figure that is expected to continue to decline after the implementation of the new law. As additional information, the approval also means that Chile joins the trend followed by most of the 38 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where the weekly working day is also 40 hours.
LAW 2101 IN COLOMBIA
The reform of the working day in Colombia is peculiar, because it aims to achieve a more moderate goal: going from 48 to 42 hours per week. However, Law 2101 that contains the project is similar to its Chilean counterpart in one essential element: gradual de-escalation . In this way, as of July 15, 2023, the Colombian work day went from 48 hours a week to 47 hours. This is how the first of four annual reductions was applied that will end in 2026. It also represents the starting point for the aforementioned law, originally approved in 2021 during the government of Iván Duque. The following changes imply that by 2024, 46 hours per week will be worked; in 2025, 44 and finally, in 2026, the goal of 42 is reached.
It should be noted that the decrease in weekly hours does not include a reduction in the salary or benefits that employees receive. Nor does it mean that employees renounce their previous obligations. Law 2101 implies a distribution of the weekly working hours agreed between worker and employer into five or six days a week. At the same time, at least one day of rest must be guaranteed for the employee. While the number of hours worked can vary depending on the day with two established limits: a minimum of four hours and a maximum of nine hours per day.
As a key section, the new statute includes among the exceptions all jobs that the Colombian Government classifies as unhealthy or dangerous. In these cases, the law may order the reduction of working hours after establishing a ruling. On the other hand, minors authorized to work (over 15 and under 17 years of age) may only do so on a daytime shift that does not exceed 8:00 pm, with a maximum of six hours of daily work and 40 weekly.
The brand new reform represents an urgent innovation for Colombia, a country that, like Mexico, is located regionally among the nations with the highest number of effective working hours. The coffee-growing country is in fourth place with 41.7 hours per week, while in South America, it is only surpassed by Uruguay (42.1 hours). The social impact of these figures in Latin America, as well as the path outlined by the aforementioned reforms, could be key factors for a new phenomenon: a domino effect that leads to the 40-hour work week being presented as a consensus project in other countries. nations.
