Mexico Proposes 40-Hour Workweek With No Breaks

Mexico City — The National Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, Services, and Tourism (Concanaco Servytur) has unveiled a comprehensive labor reform proposal aimed at reducing informal employment, protecting existing jobs, and boosting productivity in Mexico. The initiative, presented by the organization’s president, Octavio de la Torre de Steffano, seeks to modernize the country’s labor framework while addressing structural inefficiencies.

A Push for Effective Work Hours

The proposal supports a 40-hour workweek but emphasizes that these must be effective working hours—without unproductive breaks—and paid strictly for time worked. De la Torre highlighted the current system’s flaws, where a 48-hour paid workweek often translates to only 42 productive hours due to inefficiencies. Under a poorly implemented 40-hour model, he warned, actual productivity could drop to 34 hours, jeopardizing small and family-run businesses.

“Under the current model, for every 100 pesos a formal worker earns, 39 pesos go to taxes and fees,” De la Torre stated. “This heavy fiscal burden pushes workers into informal jobs, where they lack benefits and basic labor rights.” Mexico’s informal sector currently employs 54.5% of the workforce, a figure driven by economic necessity rather than choice.

Key Components of the Reform

The Concanaco Servytur proposal outlines eight critical measures:

1. 40 effective working hours without breaks, with pay based on actual hours worked.
2. Voluntary flexibility to maintain 48-hour workweeks if mutually agreed upon.
3. State fiscal incentives to encourage formal hiring.
4. Elimination of overtime taxes to prevent employer penalties.
5. Full payroll deduction allowances to stimulate formal job creation.
6. Clear overtime regulations to prevent legal ambiguities and abuses.
7. Support for small and medium enterprises, which are disproportionately affected by informality.
8. A Labor Transition Observatory to monitor implementation and identify risks.

Formal Employment as a Right, Not a Privilege

De la Torre stressed that formal employment should be accessible to all workers, not just a privileged few. Millions of informal workers currently lack access to minimum wage, social security, paid leave, retirement benefits, profit-sharing, and housing credits. “This isn’t rhetoric—it’s reality,” he said, calling for a balanced reform that modernizes the labor market without destabilizing it.

A Call for Sustainable Change

The proposal arrives amid growing national debate over workweek reductions and labor rights. While advocates push for shorter hours, economic and fiscal challenges complicate immediate implementation. Concanaco’s plan seeks a middle ground—prioritizing efficiency, productivity, and formalization without job losses.

The reform’s focus on effective work hours, rather than just reducing the workweek, aims to create a more equitable and sustainable labor model. As discussions unfold, the proposal could shape Mexico’s path toward a more inclusive and productive workforce.