President Iván Duque signs a law that will reduce working hours in Colombia

By: MRT Desk

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El presidente Iván Duque firma una ley que reducirá la jornada laboral en Colombia

The president of Colombia, Iván Duque, has signed a bill that reduces the working day 48 to 42 hours per week. Law 2101 of July 2021, established in 2019 and led by the former president and then senator of the Democratic Center, Álvaro Uribe, was approved by Congress on June 17 and it will be done gradually. That is, after two years from the entry into force, the work week will go from 48 to 47 hours, the following year it will be reduced by one more hour and at the end of the fourth year it will decrease by two each year, until reaching the stipulated 42.

“The maximum duration of the ordinary working day is forty-two (42) hours a week, which may be distributed, by mutual agreement, between employer and worker, on five or six days a week, always guaranteeing the day of rest “, says the text that modifies article 161 of the Substantive Labor Code.

Measure will not imply a reduction in salary of workers or benefits and respects the rights acquired in employment contracts. Neither will it modify “the value of the ordinary working hour, nor will it exonerate the obligations in favor of the workers,” underlines article 4 of the law. On the other hand, it obliges the Ministry of Labor to hold technical tables with unions and unions to put forward proposals to improve labor productivity.

Controversy

According to Congresswoman María del Rosario Guerra, the initiative is “a breakthrough which should translate into greater productivity and better living conditions for workers. “Congress, where the project was approved, assume that it will allow employees to take advantage of their free time to share with the family, rest or study.

In this vein, these new conditions are expected to generate well-being for workers and this will contribute to the productivity increase of the companies, and consequently of the country.

Meanwhile, the private business sector opposed the approval of Congress from the beginning. Bruce Mac Master, director of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (Andi), believes that comes at a bad time And it goes against the economic recovery that the country is facing as a result of the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic. “Although we asked Congress several times to consider a job generation project, it seems that this situation is not a priority for them, it is surprising that they have not seen the clamor of young people and mothers who are heads of families who ask for opportunities to job”, he claimed.

The president of the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco), Jaime Alberto Cabal, also considers non-viable the reduction in hours in the context of current economic circumstances. In his opinion, it will stimulate informal work, increase labor costs and will not create jobs. Rosmery Quintero, president of the Colombian Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Acopi), insists on the inconvenience of the project for the business union, which is in an adaptation stage, pick up the local newspaper El País.

The proposal stems from the fact that Colombia tops the list of countries with the worst balance between family and work life, with 27% of its inhabitants works more than average. A survey by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) concluded that Colombians work approximately eight hours and 25 minutes a day and the average weekly work time is 47.8 hours for men and 42.3 for women. However, it is an hourly load that has not caused significant increases in productivity.

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