Chilean Congress Approves Bill To Reduce Working Hours

Chile's Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday approved the bill that gradually reduces the working day from 45 to 40 hours per week.

With 127 votes in favor, 14 against and 3 abstentions, "the House endorses the bill that modifies the Labor Code to reduce the working day", informed the Congress in a statement.

After being approved in the National Congress, the bill will be promulgated by President Gabriel Boric for its entry into force on May 1, International Workers' Day.

It implies a gradual reduction of the working day to be carried out over a five-year period. During the first year from the publication of the measure, the working day will be reduced to 44 hours per week; after three years, to 42 hours; and after five years, the official maximum of 40 hours per week will come into force.

It has been a historic day in Congress and as the Government of Chile we are happy! Minister Jeannette Jara thanked the workers, all the parliamentarians, from the ruling party and the opposition, for making the 40 Hours for Chile a reality.

The measure also implies an increase in the payment of overtime worked when necessary, the possibility of working four days a week and resting three, among other benefits.

From the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh) the then deputy and current Minister Secretary General of Government, Camila Vallejo, and legislator Karol Cariola promoted the initiative back in 2017. 

The Minister of Labor, Jeannette Jara, welcomed the approval of the measure in Congress and said, "This is so that workers have more time with their families, with their children, more time to live better, more time for love."