The 40-hour project advances steadily –

Unanimously approved in the Senate. The reduction of the weekly working day is close to being a reality in the country.

Valparaiso. 3/21/2023. The Senate unanimously approved the bill that reduces the working day from 45 to 40 weekly hours in the country. Thus, the initiative, which was presented several years ago by Communist Party legislators, went to the third stage in the Chamber of Deputies.

The project that reduces the working day from 45 to 40 hours a week was originally presented in 2017 by the deputy Karol Cariola and the current spokeswoman for La Moneda, Camila Vallejo. In 2019 it was approved by the Lower House and passed to the Senate, where it did not register a movement until August 2022, when the Government of President Gabriel Boric reactivated it by entering a series of indications.

The gradualness for the implementation, the reduction will be from 45 to 44 hours in the first year of validity of the law, to 42 hours in the third year and to 40 in the fifth year.

Also, the possibility of agreeing with the worker or worker is established that the ordinary 40-hour day is fulfilled in an average of up to 4 weeks, with a maximum of 45 hours per week. And it is stipulated that in the event that the worker is a union member, the company must have the agreement of the representative organization of the workers, so that, through a collective agreement between the company and the union, a working week of up to 52 hours, which will only involve partners.

At the same time, it is proposed that, by written agreement and exceptionally, once a year, overtime can be compensated with five days of holidays for the benefit of workers, making it possible to reconcile personal life and work.

Jeannette Jara, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare:

“Many times it was said that this was impossible, but many companies have shown us that, even without the law, they were able to anticipate the reduction in working hours.”

“When we talked with the workers of these companies, they told us about their experiences and how the reduction in working hours has allowed them to leave their homes an hour later or leave their children awake; how when they took a bus home they could sit down and return to their homes with less fatigue”.

“I would like to mention the principles that govern this bill and they will serve us for the construction of future public policies that we carry out. First of all, provide us with an effective rest time. May this reduction in working hours be expressed concretely in more rest time, more time to be with our children, more time with our families”.

Camila Vallejo, Minister of the General Secretariat of Government:

“We thank everyone who has been pushing the 40-hour initiative. Changes cannot be stopped forever and although the years have passed, we have added not only support, but also improvements in the project that from day one we were available to do, but thanks to the conviction of President Boric, our Minister of Labor, Jeannette Jara, and the team from the Ministry of Labor, a broad conversation was achieved on how to adapt this reduction in working hours in the different productive sectors. We have done this thinking about the quality of life of workers and workers.

Antonia Orellana, Minister for Women and Gender Equity:

“Today we would like to highlight from the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, that one of the relevant points to be able to reach the agreement that Minister Jara and Undersecretary Boccardo have led, has to do precisely with co-responsibility in care work and to be able to advance in consecrating the right to care. That was an important point in the agreement that was reached with the opposition and that is why we would like to say that this shows that the rights of women, the demands that women workers and women caregivers have installed are points of rapprochement, they are not issues niches, but rather benefit the vast majority of the country.”

David Acuña, president of the Unitary Confederation of Workers (CUT):

“We hope to continue building in a tripartite manner everything we need as workers (…) We hope that, together with the Government, businessmen, as well as parliamentarians, continue advancing in the welfare of workers.”

Isabel Allende senator of the Socialist Party:

“This is a historic demand of the workers and workers. We cannot ignore the fact that there are developed countries that have shorter working hours, but also have higher productivity rates and that means that more training is required for workers”.

Senator Juan Ignacio Latorre, of the Democratic Revolution:

“The reduction of the working day does not reduce productivity, it reconciles work and personal life, it advances gender equality and social security. It is part of President Gabriel Boric’s program to move towards a social welfare state”.

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