Mexico struggles to mandate a 40-hour work week

Legislation to change Mexico’s work week from 48 to 40 hours is hitting some major roadblocks. With fewer than 10 days left in the current session of Congress, a bill introduced by Morena party representative Susana Prieto Terrazas in October 2022 has not yet been scheduled for a vote in the lower house of Mexico’s legislature. If no vote happens now, then the bill won’t be forwarded to the Senate next year for debate in the final months of the López Obrador administration. Opposition from the private sector includes prominent names like Carlos Slim, the wealthiest man in Mexico, and the heads of major business organizations. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has asked for more time to ensure “all voices” are heard.

López Obrador believes the issue doesn’t have to be resolved during the current Congress that officially ends on December 15, and suggested that it can be debated in the next session that begins on February 1, 2024. In one of his daily press briefings, the president stressed the importance of seeking consensus between workers and the private sector, and proposed taking time to review the approaches of other countries.

The president’s call for a broader discussion on the reform came days after Carlos Slim openly opposed the initiative. “I think it’s better for people to work 48 hours and earn more, rather than working 40 hours and earning less. It’s important for people to have more income and greater purchasing power, and that’s exactly what they have achieved, according to the president’s own data,” said Slim after the December 1 inauguration of Tulum’s new airport on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

Most business leaders have joined Slim in turning their backs on a 40-hour work week, believing that it will lead to higher labor costs and a loss of competitiveness for Mexican businesses. “I don’t think it’s the right time, and I trust that our legislators will analyze it carefully in light of the labor shortage and other complications,” said José Abugaber, president of CONCAMIN, a federation of Mexican chambers of commerce.

The sponsor of the bill, Susana Prieto, is determined to keep pushing for a vote. “We have no other business in the Chamber of Deputies at the moment, so the bill will be handed over to our leadership for a vote next week. I’ll keep fighting for this no matter that the president says.”

Prieto says that if the president believes the initiative hasn’t been sufficiently debated, then it should be discussed in his morning briefings at the National Palace. “Just like business owners have closed ranks on this issue, workers need to come together and support each other for their own benefit,” said Prieto. In this race against time, protestors have gathered near the Chamber of Deputies to demand approval of the constitutional reform and its forwarding to the Senate.

According to labor law expert Manuel Fuentes, the official 48-hour work week in Mexico is often disregarded, particularly in the agricultural and livestock sector where some people work 12-hour shifts. Fuentes noted that the president’s recent backpedaling is probably due to private sector lobbying against the shorter work week. “Even though he doesn’t have an official position, Carlos Slim is one of the president’s top advisors. His opinions really matter.”

According to the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mexico is one of the hardest-working countries in the world. Its people work an average of 2,226 hours per year, well above countries like Costa Rica, Chile, Israel and Russia. Mexico’s official work week hasn’t changed since 1917, over a century ago.

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