The Chamber of Deputies is analyzing an initiative that will cut the work week in Mexico from 48 to 40 hours.
The proposal would reduce the “official” number of working days in a week from six to five, meaning that Saturdays will no longer be considered a work day.
The initiative is part of a series of reforms that are “urgently needed in the country,” according to Jalisco Labor Secretary Marco Valerio Pérez Gollaz. The proposal has already passed the committee stage, and includes other parts that aim to improve safety for workers employed in heavy industries.
The Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce (CANACO) issued a statement rejecting the proposed reform, saying many companies would be unable to pay employees for one more day of rest per week. The organization said small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will be at a particular disadvantage.
Raúl Flores, president of the Jalisco branch of Coparmex, the national employers’ association, said the proposal needs careful discussion since it will “affect our companies that are coming out of a very complicated situation with the pandemic.”
The initiative may be especially hard on employers coming on the heels of recent law changes affording staff more vacation time.