Workday of 40 weekly hours is a fact in Chile after signing Boric

The Chilean President, gabriel boricpromulgated this Friday the law to reduce from 45 to 40 weekly hours the workdayan initiative cataloged by the president as “historical” and “indispensable” for the country to move towards a “better life quality”.

“Today is a historic day. Something that for a long time we were told was impossible comes true, an act of voluntarism, just to complicate or to appear in the press. That those were things for Europe. That’s what they told us at the time. We are taking a tremendously important step on the road to well-being and a better quality of life for those who are the engine of Chile, its workers and workers, and their families.”, affirmed the Chilean president.

“I hope that at the end of this four-year period, Chileans will live better, we will have more justice. We are going to continue advancing in that direction, for example with the reform of pensions, taxes, security, health, and many other steps where we need the help of all”, he added.

For her part, the Minister of Labour, Jeanette Jarahighlighted the promulgation of the law as “a great advance in civilization and well deserved for the quality of life of our daughters and daughters and the workers” from the country.

According to the Secretary of State, more than 4.7 million Chilean workers attached to the Labor Code will benefit from this measure, whose maximum implementation period contemplates five years.

“The contribution made by employers has also been enriching for the bill, which addresses the aspects of those workers who have ordinary, special and exceptional work hours. Seeks the effective rest of the workers, with the right to their salary and gradual implementation so that, with economic responsibility, we take care of employment”, added Minister Jara.

The project had the favorable vote of the majority of the parties during its legislative process, with the exception of the far-right Republican Party.

The law has great citizen support and the approval of both unions and business employers.

The measure estimates an initial reduction from 45 to 44 working hours a week during the first year of the law, while the second reduction will be up to 42 hours from the third year and the goal of 40 hours will be reached in the fifth.

Chili thus becoming the third country in the region, after Ecuador and Venezuelain fixing the working week of 40 hours, an exception in the region, where most countries have 48-hour weekly days.

The initial project was presented in 2017 by the Communist Party, one of the political formations with which it governs Boricbut he faced many complications during his first parliamentary discussions.

Source: EFE