Mexico increases the overtime cap and approves a law for a 40-hour workday.

A plan that would progressively cut the workweek from 48 to 40 hours has been approved in Mexico; nevertheless, the reform, which is anticipated to take effect next year, keeps just one day off for every six hours worked and increases weekly overtime.

The second-largest economy in Latin America has the worst work-life balance in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with over 2,226 work hours per person annually. Among the 38 member states of the organization, the nation has the lowest wages and labor productivity, with about 55% of people working in the unorganized sector.

With the support of all 469 members of the 500-member Congress, the Chamber of Deputies approved the bill’s overall outline late Tuesday; no one voted against it. The law’s specific provisions were then discussed by deputies, who approved them with 411 votes. During ten hours of debate, the opposition had harshly criticized the measure. After years of back and forth with company owners, the ruling party celebrated its acceptance. Because the bill boosts weekly overtime to 12 hours from nine and does not include a required two days of relaxation for every five hours worked, the opposition claimed that it does not actually reduce the workweek.

“The idea of the reform is not bad, but it is incomplete and was done in a rush,” said Alex Dominguez, a lawmaker from the opposition PRI party.

The reform won general approval earlier this month in the Senate, where the ruling Morena party holds a strong majority.

“After more than 100 years without changes, Mexico will gradually phase out the 48-hour workweek,” the Ministry of Labor said on X in the early hours of Wednesday.

The idea, which was submitted by President Claudia Sheinbaum in December, would help around 13.4 million people by reducing the workweek by two hours annually until 2030.

The first two-hour cut would take effect in January 2027 if the measure is approved by more than half of Mexico’s state legislatures, as is anticipated.