The bill was passed by a large majority and is expected to be signed by Chilean President Gabriel Boric.
Chilean lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a law reducing the country’s workweek from 45 to 40 hours in a bid to improve the quality of life and rights of workers in the South American country.
The measure was passed by the lower house of the Chilean Congress on Tuesday by a margin of 127 to 14, after being passed anonymously by the senate several weeks ago. Chile’s left-wing president Gabriel Boric, who is expected to sign the bill into law, praised it as a “pro-family project aimed at the good life of all” in a Twitter post.
“This is a project that will greatly contribute to our quality of life,” said Labor Minister Jeannette Jara. “Yes, changes can be made to promote workers’ rights.”
The bill represents a legislative victory for Boric, who won the election on a left-wing platform pledging to improve workers’ rights, fight inequality and promote social justice.
However, some of Boric’s bigger ambitions — such as rewriting the country’s neoliberal constitution inherited from the era of right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet and making major changes to the tax code — have faced setbacks.
Aprabadas read #40Horas! Many of the many apoyos and dialogues, hoy por fin podemos celebrar la aprobación de este proyecto que reduce la jornada laboral, a proyecto profamilia que apunta al buen vivir de todas y todos. pic.twitter.com/oIE0yiSkRp
— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) April 11, 2023
Tuesday’s law reduces the workweek incrementally over five years until the country reaches 40 hours, the norm in many industrialized countries.
However, Latin America has some of the longest work weeks in the world, with 48-hour work weeks in countries such as Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Panama and 44-hour work weeks in Brazil.
However, the South American country of Ecuador has a 40-hour work week.
Longer work weeks don’t necessarily mean higher productivity either: France has a 35-hour work week and has some of the most productive workers of any country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Other countries have also experimented with shortened work weeks, with one of the largest trials concluded in the UK earlier this year.
The trial, which involved 61 companies, showed that four-day work weeks led to less stress among employees and had little impact on turnover. The vast majority of the 61 companies decided to continue with the practice after the trial.
Tuesday’s law in Chile prevents companies from cutting salaries because of the change and allows workers to switch to a four-day work week. However, it does not apply to informal sectors of Chile’s economy, which make up more than a quarter of the country’s workforce, the AFP news agency said.
Some companies have criticized the initiative, saying it will put pressure on them as they try to adapt, but others welcome the change.
Danitza Becerra, the owner of a design company called Organic Style, told Reuters that her company switched to a 40-hour workweek years ago and it was a positive experience.
“It’s a very good initiative that has changed our lives,” she said.