Although Denmark probably needs to work harder going forward, there are other places in the world where the tendency is different. The newly elected Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, went to the polls to lower the working week from 45 hours to 40 hours – and now it has been adopted. – After many years of work and dialogue, today we can finally celebrate the approval of this project which reduces the working day. A family-friendly project, which aims at a good life for everyone, the president wrote on Twitter. The law was passed by a large majority in Congress in April, thus the working hours will gradually be reduced to 40 hours over the next five years. The Labor Act also contains increased pay for overtime or the option to exchange overtime for holidays, and it provides more flexibility for when the working hours are placed. You can work 40 hours spread over four working days. At the same time, to make family life easier, you can start your working day within a space of two hours, if you have children under 12. The new law applies to jobs that are regulated by the Labor Act. It comprises 27 percent of jobs in Chile, including in the transport sector. A long way to go A bill on a 40-hour working week was put to the vote for the first time in 2017, where the proposal was voted down. But the new centre-left government has had a dialogue with trade unions and representatives from both small, medium and large businesses in the preparation of the new law. This has led to several companies in Chile already announcing that they will also introduce a 40-hour working week. Including state-owned copper giant Codelco, which earlier this year said it would try to implement a 40-hour work week by 2026. Many Latin American countries have some of the longest work weeks in the world. Countries such as Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico have a 48-hour work week, and Brazil a 44-hour work week. Only Ecuador and Venezuela have a 40-hour working week, which Chile can now also look forward to.
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More free time: Chile cuts the working week to 40 hours
