The Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) stated this Tuesday that “now is not the time” to approve the reform for reduce the working day from 48 to 40 hours per week discussed by Congresscriticizing the costs that companies already face due to increases in the minimum wage and vacations.
José Medina Mora, the leader of the organization that brings together more than 36,000 companies that together contribute a third of the gross domestic product (GDP), said in an interview with EFE that Before further labor reforms, productivity must be raised.
He also considered it necessary to address up to 1.6 million unfilled vacancies in the country.while there are more than 10 million Mexicans untapped in the labor market.
“It is simply not the time, at Coparmex we have always been in favor of the workers, that is why we have promoted the increase in the minimum wage, we seek their well-being, that they leave on time, that they can be with their families and we will continue doing that . We simply consider that now is not the time,” he said.
The president of the association recalled that In 2023 alone, entrepreneurs in the country have already faced the increase in the minimum wageor, as well as the reform that doubled the minimum mandatory vacation for workers to 12 days.
Likewise, he cited the increase by employers in contributions to workers’ pension funds, which he called “the most important social reform promoted by the business sector in recent decades,” which consists of increasing the pension by 8%. contribution in eight years starting in 2023.
Medina Mora explained that these three changes have already increased costs for companies, which is why he considered that it is necessary to compensate with productivity and, in particular, address open vacancies that have not been filled in the country.
A controversial work day
The Chamber of Deputies announced last week that, in this period, which ends on December 15, it would vote on the constitutional reform of article 123 to establish two mandatory days of rest per week for every five days worked.
Mexico is the country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) where workers work the most hours, with almost 2,140 per year, according to this organization.
But the president of Coparmex argued that only in the industry do they work six days a week due to the absence of sufficient personnel, while in bureaucratic jobs and most offices the days are already five working days, in practice.
There, he acknowledged, the pending issue is for workers to only work eight hours and “break that habit that exists of not being able to leave until the boss leaves”.
“I wish it were only eight hours a day, in many of these companies and government agencies people stay more than eight hours. That is very tiring and that lowers productivity,” he said.
So far, legislators from the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena), as well as some of the opposition Citizen Movement (MC) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), have expressed their support for the reform.
But the initiative faces a complex path because, being constitutional, it requires a two-thirds qualified majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, as well as the endorsement of the majority of the 32 state congresses.
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