The Chilean parliament approved the shortening of the working day

He Parliament The Chilean approved the reduction this Tuesday 45 to 40 weekly working hours, a law with great support from citizens that has yet to be promulgated by the president Gabriel Boric come into force.

The regulation, which also has the approval of both unions and business employers, has been approved by almost all political parties and makes Chile the third country in the region, after Ecuador and Venezuelain determining a working day of 40 hours per week.

“Today it was shown that, although some thought it was impossible to improve the quality of life of our country’s workers, it is possible,” said the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare after the vote. Jeanette Jara.

A measure that could be adopted May 1st on the occasion Labor Dayproposes an initial reduction from 45 to 44 working hours per week during the first year of the law.

The second reduction will be to 42 hours from the third year, while the goal is from 40 hours will be reached at five.

Jara emphasized that the law was supported by “a large majority”, since it had only the rejection of the far right Republican Partyand reminded that the reduction of working hours “is a request that comes from many years ago”.

“We thank the many sectors of the opposition that took the step and joined the ruling party. We believe that this was done for the benefit of all of Chile,” he added.

The initial project was presented in 2017 by the Communist Party – one of the political formations with which Borić rules – but it faced many complications during the first parliamentary debates.

“Politics has shown that it can deal with the challenges posed by the Chilean people. (…) I want to thank the workers and all those who, when they were in the opposition, stepped forward,” said the spokeswoman. official Camila Vallejo, one of the promoters of the initial project.

The progressive president, who made some changes to the initial project such as gradualism, gave it new momentum last year and in August asked the Parliament to process it “urgently”.

Once brought, Chili will become, together Ecuador and Venezuelaexcept in the region, where it is a working day in most countries 48 weekly hours.