Currently, The Federal Labour Law in Mexico establishes a working week of 48 hours spread over six days with a day of rest.
The Bill aims to reduce weekly working hours from 48 to 40 to grant employees two mandatory rest days per five working days a week.
If passed, the Bill would significantly impact employers in terms of increased costs related to the need for more employees, payment of overtime, and compensation for rest days worked.
For these reasons, the reform has met with resistance from businesses, and the debate on its possible implications is fierce.
Employers have asked Congress for the changes to be phased gradually to mitigate their effects, especially on small and medium-sized enterprises.
The President of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (CONCAMIN), Josè Abugaber, stressed that this is not the right time for a similar change in light of the labour shortage and other factors that should be considered.
The reduction of weekly working hours is a very topical issue. We recently reported on a similar reform in Colombia, which you can read about here.