Mexico: reform bill reducing working hours still pending

Last year, the House of Representatives Member Susana Prieto presented a Bill to constitutionally amend working hours from 48 to 40 hours a week.
In November 2023, members of the Board of the Chamber of Deputies made a series of recommendations and changes to the Bill that returned to the Constitutional Points Committee.
On 15 December, the Mexican Congress closed its final ordinary session for 2023. The Bill will be discussed when the next ordinary session opens in February 2024.

Currently, The Federal Labour Law in Mexico establishes a working week of 48 hours spread over six days with a day of rest.

The Bill aims to reduce weekly working hours from 48 to 40 to grant employees two mandatory rest days per five working days a week.

If passed, the Bill would significantly impact employers in terms of increased costs related to the need for more employees, payment of overtime, and compensation for rest days worked.

For these reasons, the reform has met with resistance from businesses, and the debate on its possible implications is fierce.

Employers have asked Congress for the changes to be phased gradually to mitigate their effects, especially on small and medium-sized enterprises.

The President of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (CONCAMIN), Josè Abugaber, stressed that this is not the right time for a similar change in light of the labour shortage and other factors that should be considered.

The reduction of weekly working hours is a very topical issue. We recently reported on a similar reform in Colombia, which you can read about here.