There are still no secondary laws to punish working weeks of more than 48 hours. The legislation provides for penalties of up to 12 years in prison, as it is considered a form of labour exploitation, however, it has not yet been defined how they would be applied.
Berenice Morales de Ávila, Secretary of Labor and Social Security in the Durango government, said that, although the measure may be considered extreme by many people, it was generated by practices that were detected in some companies, which must review the changes with their legal departments and make adjustments to avoid being subject to sanctions.
“It is already a reform, it is already something that is within our legal regulations in the country, so, here we have no choice but to update ourselves. These are measures that for many could be extreme, but the same need or the same practice that was experienced year after year is what generated this reform, so companies must approach their legal staff to see the scope and make the appropriate modifications to avoid some type of sanction and reach that level,” he explained.
He mentioned that the way in which sanctions would be applied to companies that do not comply has not been defined because, although the reform has already been approved, secondary laws have yet to be generated.
With the recent entry into force of the Law against Labor Exploitation, employers who force workers to work more than eight hours a day, or 48 hours a week, without the corresponding payment for overtime will be punished.
The recent reform of the anti-trafficking legislation extended the crime of labour exploitation to include long hours without adequate compensation. Current regulations state that a person can work up to 57 hours per week without being considered a crime of exploitation, which is equivalent to 48 regular hours and nine hours of overtime, but only if all hours over the workday are paid.
In June, the reform of the General Law to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Crimes in the Field of Human Trafficking and to Protect and Assist Victims of These Crimes came into force. This amendment extended the concept of labor exploitation to include work days that are longer than those established by law.
In this way, long working hours can be punished with a sentence of between three and 10 years in prison, plus a financial penalty. The punishment is aggravated if it affects people from indigenous or Afro-Mexican communities.
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2024-07-05 14:16:18