Gabriel Boric revives a project to reduce the working day in Chile

The government of President Gabriel Boric has reactivated a bill in Chile that seeks to keep one of its election promises: gradually reduce the working day from 45 to 40 hours per week.

Boric, who on Tuesday in a ceremony at the government house asked to speed up its elaboration in the Senate, said that the initiative is gaining support and “today is a step towards reality”.

He also recalled that in its beginnings the project dealt with very strong opposition. The initiative entered Congress in March 2017 and was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2019 but then got stuck in the upper house due to the social uprising in October of the same year and the arrival of the pandemic in March 2020.

Among the innovations that the government will incorporate into the project is the gradual cut of hours over five years, which will allow “different companies, depending on their reality, to adapt to this new day”, explained Boric.

“There are companies that have moved forward and have shown that sometimes a law is not needed to move towards a better quality of life, but also disposition and social dialogue”, added the president.

The initiative has great support from citizens and the approval of business associations.

Draw in the Senate

The proposal, led in 2017 by the current Minister General Secretary of the Government, Camila Vallejos, and by the deputy of the Communist Party Karol Cariola, was approved in November 2019 in Deputies with 86 votes in favor, 33 against and 31 abstentions.

Now the project is in the Labor Commission of the Senate

The project introduces a reform of the Labor Code which 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 the project will be given great urgency to be processed quickly.

“How much is a story or a song worth at night?” Boric wondered, alluding to the fact that the workers – if the initiative is approved – will have five extra hours a week to enjoy their family.

Among the indications that will be added to the project is the one that provides that in cases where the working day cannot be reduced, the worker will be compensated with more days of rest.

The project, on the other hand, provides for an article that allows entry and postponement of the deadline for employees who have to look after children under the age of 12.

On the point, Vallejos explained, it was born as a result of “the testimonies of working women who have felt overwhelmed and worried”, because they have to spend two to three hours traveling to their workplaces and returning in the late afternoon or at night. their homes.

The government estimates that about four million workers will benefit from the law, in a country with a workforce of about 8.5 million people, whose employment rate is around 53% and where informal work reaches 27%according to data from the National Labor Institute (INE).

In Chile, 46.5% of workers are women and 67.8% men, according to the INE, which adds that women earn 20.4% less than men, according to a 2020 income study.

With information from agencies

CB