New labor reform bill is introduced: this is how the working day and the Sunday and holiday surcharge would look like

Today, the labor reform was filed again in the Congress of the Republic, and there is great expectation for what it may say about the reduction of the maximum working day of Colombians and the Sunday and holiday surcharge.

In this regard, Article 161 of the bill stipulates that “the maximum duration of the ordinary working day is eight (8) hours a day, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 3 of Law 2101 of 2021 on the gradual application, and a maximum working day of forty-two (42) hours a week. The maximum working week may be distributed, by mutual agreement, between employer and employee, in five (5) or six (6) days a week, always guaranteeing the day of rest and without affecting the salary”.

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Labor reform: what it says about daytime working hours and Sunday and holiday surcharge

Another measure proposed by the labor reform is to reduce the daytime workday, so that it will no longer go from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm but from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Regarding Sunday and holiday surcharges, it proposes a gradual increase in the percentage recognized, from the current 75% to 100%.

As of July 2024, the surcharge for working on mandatory rest days or holidays would be increased to 80%. As of July 2025, it would be increased to 90%. Finally, as of July 2026, the surcharge for working on mandatory rest days or holidays would be fully applied, if the labor reform is approved as proposed.

“The above, notwithstanding that, upon the entry into force of this law, the employer may apply the 100% surcharge”, as stated in the bill.

Working day in Colombia: How many hours Colombians work

Currently, and since July of this year, the first phase of the reduction of the maximum legal working day is in operation, which went from 48 hours to 47 hours per week. Even so, Colombians continue to be among the hardest workers among OECD countries.

A recent OECD study revealed that Colombia ranks highest in terms of hours worked per person per year. The study compared and averaged data from 38 countries and Colombia ranked first.

The report revealed a disturbing figure: people in Colombia worked an average of 2,405 hours over the course of 2021. This is equivalent to around 300 working days, assuming an 8-hour working day.

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The contrast is evident when one considers that in Germany, the country at the bottom of the list, this figure comes to just 1,341 hours worked per person per year, with a working day that normally ranges from 35 to 40 hours per week.

This is the most up-to-date figure available and shows the total working hours spent per person in the country during that period. In terms of public health, long working hours are a headache.

The labor reform bill states in this regard that “according to ILO figures, long working hours caused 745,000 deaths from ischemic heart disease and stroke in 2016, an increase of 29% since 2000”.

Reduced working hours in Colombia

In Colombia, as of July 16, 2023, the gradual reduction of the working day in the country began, in accordance with Law 2101 of 2021.

This measure implies that the maximum working week, which used to be 48 hours, will be gradually reduced to 42 hours. Year after year, Colombian employers will have to gradually reduce the working day until the established limit is reached.

This year and next, the reduction will be by one hour, bringing it to 47 hours. By 2025, two hours will be reduced each year, until reaching the 42 hours per week established by Law 2101 of 2021.

The strenuous working day for Latin Americans

The standard working day for Latin American countries is a maximum of 48 hours worked per week. The trend, however, in European and Asian countries, is marked by the reduction of the working day to a maximum of 40 hours.

Last year Chile joined countries such as Ecuador and some Caribbean islands, with a law that promotes the reduction of the working week, with a limit of 40 hours per week. In Ecuador, legislation reducing the working week to 40 hours came into force in 1997, and has been in place ever since.

The great exception in the region is French Guyana, with a maximum working week of 35 hours, because it adheres to French legislation as part of its overseas region.

The general panorama of Latin American countries continues to be largely influenced by informal labor and the lack of regulation of certain trades. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), informal work in Latin America is mostly concentrated in rural areas, with a percentage reaching 68.5%. Of the informal workers in Latin America, more than half are women (54.3%) and 62.4% are young people.

In total, around 140 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean work informally, without any regulation of their working hours or legislation governing their trades.

What is the OECD?

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a 38-nation corporation founded in 1961, with headquarters in Paris.

Its main purpose is to promote economic and social policies that, among other things, strengthen the labor realities of communities.

This entity publishes reports of member countries on economic and social issues with the objective of making visible the living conditions of the communities. One of these studies is precisely the one on hours worked per person in the country.

This report takes into consideration the hours worked in full time, part time, part time, under contract or independent mode, in formal or informal jobs, and excludes hours not worked due to holidays or medical incapacity. This compendium is averaged with the number of inhabitants of the country.

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