2024-09-24 05:09:34
The initiative seeks to allow workers to choose the days they wish to rest, instead of holidays, in order to avoid the paralysis of trade.
Chile has 16 holidays in totalwhose number could change to mitigate the economic impact that this generates, since these days force trade to stop.
In this context, the Government is evaluating an initiative that would be related to “less holidays, more vacations”, which seeks to count some holidays as legal vacations, so that workers can decide when to rest.
Speaking to Radio Pauta, the Minister of Labor, Jeannette Jara, cited as an example countries that have more vacation days than holidays, as is the case in some European countries.
The formula that the Government is studying to reduce holidays and increase vacations
“I like that formula, exactly the one you said, fewer holidays and more vacation days. We have been in talks with the Minister of Finance about taking a measure of this nature,” said the Secretary of State.
“What has been thought is that holidays can be reduced and vacations increased. This generates the same number of working days, but the difference that occurs is that the person can decide when to take the day off”, Jara explained.
He added: “If a person wanted to take it on the day that was previously a holiday, they could take it, but if they wanted to do it as an extension of their summer period, for example, or during winter vacation, they could do that too. So, it’s an idea that’s been around.“.
Currently, Chile is located in the average of countries with holidays in the worldIn South America, our country is surpassed by Argentina and Uruguay, which each have 19. On the other hand, we surpass Ecuador and Bolivia, which have 10 and 11 holidays, respectively.
In this context, in Chile the law states that workers have the right to 15 days of vacation per year. Any holidays that are eliminated would be added to this figure.
Along those lines, Jeannette Jara said that “what is currently in Parliament is another issue regarding holidays, which are regional holidays, and that it is also a good measure, because when these national holidays occur, their impact on the economy is greater than when they are only regional in nature.”