Mexico's Senate backs 40-hour workweek in initial vote

MEXICO CITY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Mexico's Senate on Wednesday approved a presidential proposal to reduce the legal workweek to 40 hours from 48, overriding resistance from both unions and the opposition with a revamped version of a previously proposed reform.

The initiative was unanimously approved in general terms with 121 votes, and now moves to the lower house of Congress for final debate.

After years of back-and-forth between Congress and the private sector, President Claudia Sheinbaum in December formally introduced a bill to gradually implement the 40-hour workweek.

The proposal aims to reduce the workweek by two hours per year until 2030 for some 13.4 million workers.

Opposition lawmakers and union leaders have called it a watered-down proposal, arguing that it leaves loopholes that would not substantially reduce weekly workloads.

If the bill passes, the reform would take effect on May 1st, with the first two-hour reduction implemented in January 2027.

Mexico leads rankings in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for longest working hours, with 2,226 hours per person annually. It also has the lowest labor productivity and lowest wages among the 38 member states.