Project 40 hours in Chile: what are the working hours in other Latin American countries? 

The initiative to reduce the work week to 40 hours in Chile will continue to be discussed in Congress in March after the legislative break in February to continue the adjustments to a law that aims to impact the quality of life of workers by allowing them more time with their families, less travel time and more flexibility.

This discussion has had such an impact that some companies in the country have already started to implement it, having been recognized by the government thanks to the “40-hour stamp” that has just been created to encourage more organizations to join the reduction proactively.

This requires that at least 80% of employees work 30 to 40 hours per week, have no convictions for violating the fundamental rights enshrined in the Labor Code, and that workers’ social security contributions are properly paid.

Diego López, a labor data expert at GeoVictoria, the leading Chilean HR tech company that facilitates the management and control of workers’ attendance in more than 40 countries, comments:

“As in Chile, other countries in the region are joining the effort to reduce working hours, but the trend so far shows that Chile is the most advanced in this area, as the reality in other latitudes is far from what we have achieved here in this century, from the reduction of working hours from 48 to 45 hours and with the current discussion to reach the 40-hour week.”

This is the state of the legislation on working hours in Chile and other Latin American countries:

CHILE

The bill to reduce the working week to only 40 hours per week was introduced in Congress in 2017 and passed by the lower house in 2019.

It then “lay dormant” in the Senate until amendments were made to it after President Gabriel Boric’s administration took office, and it was advanced with the utmost urgency.

The initiative was ready to be voted on in the Senate in March.

PERU

This country still has a 48-hour workweek, one of the longest in the region according to International Labor Organization (ILO) standards.

Given the current political transition situation, there are no formal discussions on this issue yet.

COLOMBIA

Law 2101 of 2021 will move Colombia from a 48-hour day to a 42-hour week within three years without cutting wages or workers’ rights.

The adjustment would take effect in mid-2023, with a one-hour reduction, or 47 hours per week rather than 48.

ARGENTINA

Like Peru, the Andean country maintains the 48-hour workweek, although there have been recent discussions to counteract it.

The only legal initiative was that of Hugo Yasky, a national deputy and president of the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (CTA) union, who presented a project to shorten the workday.

Still, it has not yet been considered by parliament.

The idea is to reduce the legal workweek to 40 hours, which is currently 48 hours, one of the highest in the region, according to old standards that the ILO itself verifies.

MEXICO

Although the working week is still 48 hours, both the reduction of the working day and the regulation of work on digital platforms will be on the agenda of the Labor Committee of the Senate of this country starting in February.

Previously, parliamentarians agreed to increase the number of vacation days for employees of private companies from 6 to 12 days per year. Now the focus is on reducing working hours, with a switch from 5 to 4 days per week being considered.