Why are they asking for the 40-hour work week to be voluntary?

The national debate on reducing the workday in Mexico has concluded, and legislative analysis is now underway. However, business sectors have called for its gradual and even voluntary implementation. What are their reasons? Here's a rundown:

The Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (CONCANACO-SERVITUR) requested that the implementation of the reduction of the working day from 48 to 40 hours be done voluntarily .

Javier Zepeda Orozco, vice president of SME Development in Mexico for the Confederation, commented that small and medium-sized businesses will be the most affected by the implementation of this reform , and therefore should be given differentiated treatment.

Check out this: This is how storms will behave this Saturday in Guadalajara.

"The position in CONCANACO SERVITUR is that we do not agree, we are not prepared in the tertiary sector to assume this reform The tertiary sector depends on consumer demand; it's not the same as the primary sector, where producers have to plant and wait until they harvest, and then I generate my sales, my business. In the industrial sector, the entire process is subject to a cycle, and in the tertiary sector, it depends on consumer demand, and that's why the tertiary sector isn't prepared for this reform," he asserted.

The vice president said that The reform must be accompanied by a series of incentives and stimuli that support the growth of SMEs. and not just based on speeches.

Read: These are the Guadalajara neighborhoods with the highest incidence of sinkholes

"I can tell you that the vast majority are not prepared because one of the mistakes being made is that they aren't even laying the groundwork for this reform to be possible. What are the groundworks? The groundwork is the rhetoric: they want people to rest more because they'll supposedly be more productive, and people won't necessarily be more productive if they rest more," he asserted.

He specified that SMEs should be supported with a higher percentage of payroll deductibility. , since they can currently only deduct 53 percent of their income tax and are asking for it to be 100 percent.

For Javier Zepeda, this reform as proposed will only lead to a rise in informal employment , which currently stands at 57 percent and could reach 60 percent.

Question: Who is being shaken by Ovidio Guzmán's statements?

"Year after year, informality in Mexico is increasing. Today, nearly 57 percent of the population is informal; more than 30 million people work in businesses and shops where they lack social benefits," he added.

He added that, in addition to the cost to SMEs of complying with the reduction in working hours, other recently approved labor reforms must be added, such as salary increases, increased vacation days, and bonuses .

"They're using the 'social welfare' narrative and portraying corporations as the enemy. Why don't they report the enormous amount of taxes we owe, in addition to our salaries? Making this labor change will represent a very heavy fiscal and financial burden for us," he said.

Also: Cyclonic circulation and monsoon will affect these entities with rain

For the specialist, medium-sized and large companies are already prepared to comply with this obligation because they have specific departments, human resources, personnel, and financial resources to implement these types of mechanisms.

Therefore, he said the government must show solidarity with SMEs and provide support, tax deductibility, and gradual implementation .

He suggested that it be implemented in 2026 for large companies; in 2027 and 2028 for medium-sized companies; and in 2029 and 2030 for small and micro-enterprises.

* * * Stay up to date with the news, join our WhatsApp channel * * *

OA