With the 40-hour workweek reform, if a worker were to work the 36 extra hours per month at double pay, they would only receive 1,206 pesos more per month than they would under the previous mandatory 48-hour workweek.
The increase in permitted overtime hours may be seen by companies as a permanent remedy to compensate for the reduction to a 40-hour workweek.
Mexico’s Secretariat of Labour & Social Welfare will determine the fine based on a variety of criteria, but a dearth of labour inspectors across the country may hamper workers ability to obtain justice.
Mexico’s workweek debate must focus on the workers who have “phantom” families because their time with their children is consumed by the need to maintain their jobs. It is the two days of rest for these sectors that must be debated.
The deputies propose to reform Article 123 of Mexico’s Constitution to guarantee the right of two days of rest for every five days of work.
Mexico’s 40 hour workweek will only come into effect in 2030, critics say the legislation opens the door to 12 hour workdays and reduced overtime pay.
Dozens of consulted workers agree on a pattern: overtime is not negotiated, it is ordered and refusing it usually results in veiled threats, shift changes, pay cuts or disguised firings.
Mexico’s much-touted 40 hour workweek reform does not bring about a real reduction in the working day; on the contrary, it will become a more effective tool of exploitation and is an initiative designed for the benefit of employers and against the dignity of workers.
Mexico has an opportunity to reimagine working hours & well-being: instead, President Sheinbaum’s proposal offers a symbolic reduction that leaves intact a 6 day work week & opens the door to 12 hour days.
95 years after the International Labour Organization adopted 40 hours as a standard, Mexico, whose workers work the most among OECD countries, will finally adopt it.