“I am very happy and deeply proud to be a part of this historic process,” said the Chilean president. gabriel boric After Congress passed a law that would reduce the workweek from 45 hours a week to 40 hours. Before May 1, Boric will stamp his signature in a symbolic gesture that places that country as an exception to the regional rule in much of Latin America. you work for 48 hours officially every seven days, but the norm is not always followed. In fact, Venezuela and Ecuador have incorporated the 40-hour week law into their labor laws, with no guarantees of compliance. Chile wants to make the initiative a reality and it will take five years to fully implement.
In a highly polarized country, as evidenced by the conflict over the Constitution, in 2022 the project was patiently negotiated for several years with the right-wing opposition, trade unions and employers. “cross agreementsaid the portal Counter. Only the far right opposed this arrangement. Its leader, José Antonio Kast, predicted disastrous results for Chile. “Both the ruling party and the opposition excited the public with a populist measure that would sooner or later harm the vast majority,” the deputy said.
law that complies with the laws of a significant part of the countries that make up Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), It will benefit a workforce of approximately 4.7 million people. “I have no doubt that 40 hours of improvements are necessary to approach a new Chile, a fairer and fuller life,” Boric wrote on his Twitter account. The 37-year-old young president has achieved a political victory this time after a year of turmoil in office.
“This very important momentOur President asked us to carry out the project in dialogue with all sectors, without leaving anyone out of this discussion, for the good of the country, and we did it to get a resounding majority,” said Jeannette Jara of Social Welfare, a member of the coalition government on behalf of the Communist party. Here is the step taken by Congress: a victory that will benefit ordinary people“Those who travel by bus because they leave too early in the morning or return too late and do not keep their children to sleep.”
Under this project, companies can agree with workers to work 10 hours for four day shifts and three days off. Camila Vallejo, a government spokesperson and also a communist, argued that the initiative would help Chileans live better. “It showed that we can overcome the challenges that people put forward.”
National Chamber of Commerce (CNC) He described the law as positive and thought it was the result of “social dialogue”. The negotiations made it possible to “significantly improve upon the original idea of reducing it from just 45 hours to 40 hours per week, leaving out the measures of adaptation and gradation that are so necessary for companies to continue to be productive, competitive and grow.” ”