The government of President Gabriel Boric reactivated a bill in Chile that seeks to fulfill one of his campaign promises: gradually reduce the working day from 45 to 40 hours per week.
Boric, who asked Tuesday at a ceremony at the government house to speed up its processing in the Senate, said that the initiative has been gaining support and “today it is one step closer to becoming a reality.”
He also recalled that in its beginnings the project faced very strong opposition. The initiative entered Congress in March 2017 and was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2019 but then stalled in the upper house due to the social revolt in October of that year and the arrival of the pandemic in March 2020.
Among the novelties that the government will incorporate into the project is the gradual cut in hours over a period of five years, which will allow “the different companies, depending on their reality, to adapt to this new day,” Boric explained.
“There are companies that have gone ahead and have shown that sometimes a law is not required to advance in a better quality of life, but also disposition and social dialogue,” added the president.
The government of Gabriel Boric hopes to reduce the weekly working hours in Chile from 45 to 40. Photo: AP
The initiative has great citizen support and the approval of business associations.
Senate tie
The proposal was led in 2017 by the current Minister Secretary General of the Government, Camila Vallejos, and the deputy of the Communist Party Karol Cariola, it was approved in November 2019 in Deputies by 86 votes in favor, 33 against and 31 abstentions.
Camila Vallejo, Secretary General of the Presidency of Chile, was a great promoter of the project on the working day. Photo: AFP
Now the project is in the Senate Labor Commission
The project introduces a reform to the Labor Code that currently establishes that the limit of the working day in Chile is 45 hours per week and must not exceed 10 hours per day.
To approve it, a simple majority is required in the Senate, where the ruling party and the center-right opposition have the same number of votes, 25 each.
Boric added that will put great urgency to the project to be processed quickly.
“How much is a story or a song worth at night?” Boric asked himself, alluding to the fact that the workers -if the initiative is approved- will have five more hours per week to enjoy the family.
Among the indications that will be added to the project is one that states that in cases where the working day cannot be reduced, the worker will be compensated with more rest days.
On the other hand, the project includes an article that allows the entry and deferred term for employees who have to care for children under 12 years of age.
On this point, Vallejos explained that it arose as a result “of testimonies from working women who felt overwhelmed and worried,” because they must spend between two and three hours traveling to their work sites and returning late in the afternoon or at night. to their homes.
The government estimates that some four million workers will benefit from the law, in a country with a workforce of some 8.5 million people, whose employment rate is around 53% and where informal work reaches 27%according to figures from the National Labor Institute (INE).
In Chile, 46.5% of workers are women and 67.8% are men, according to the INE, which adds that women earned 20.4% less than men, according to a 2020 income study.
With information from agencies
CB