Labour reform in Peru: will workers’ holidays be affected?
A new labor reform in Peru could affect the vacation days of workers
In the framework of the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE in spanish), held in Peru in November, a reform of competitiveness in the labor market was announced, which includes a review of the holiday days to which Peruvian workers are entitled. The Prime Minister, César Villanueva, announced last week during an interview at CANAL N that workers' vacations are something that should be examined, especially "the fact of generating more vacations that do not correspond. Peru is the country that has the most vacation days and that has to be reviewed, "he said.
Leer en español: Reforma laboral en Perú: ¿se afectarán las vacaciones de los trabajadores?
The minister's statements gave a lot to talk about since the first thing that can be understood is that vacation days will be reduced. However, Villanueva made it clear that the idea is not to reduce the number of days established by law, but the way in which they are granted, and that the ideal to carry out the reform is that all changes are decided by consensus "we are not going to reduce anything, we are going to regulate what corresponds in the strict right to workers," said the minister.
Despite this, representatives of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP in spanish) and Labor Minister Christian Sanchez said and said that the labor reform promoted by the Executive should be reviewed in the National Labor Council (NLC), and that the announcement of the reform generated different points of view that must enter IGNORE INTO debate.
Gerónimo López, general secretary of the CGTP, showed distrust regarding the minister's words, since, although it has been said that the vacations will not be reduced, he affirms that President Martín Vizcarra is not listening to the workers, but only to the business sectors, which fears that the reform may affect their rights. Lopez referred to this: "we have not talked with the president and now we are surprised to see that through the reform they intend to review our labor rights, and in February we will have a national meeting where we will define the actions to be taken."
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Vacation days in Latin America
The truth is that Peru is one of the countries where workers have more vacation days. In total, those who appear as formal workers are entitled to 30 days of vacation after having completed the first year of work, without counting the 14 holidays that are also free. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the consultancy Mercer, Peru and Brazil are the Latin American countries in which workers have more vacations. Brazil grants 30 days just like Peru, plus 11 holidays. On the other hand, the Latin American country that offers the least vacation is Mexico, with 6 days, plus 8 official holidays.
Other countries of the region, like Costa Rica, use other ways to determine how many vacations they give their workers. In the Central American country, workers acquire one day of vacation for each month worked, which allows them to access the benefit of vacations since the beginning of their working life. The opposite occurs in countries such as Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay, where holiday benefits increase according to the worker's seniority in the company.
LatinAmerican Post | María Fernanda Barinas Ortiz
Translated from "Reforma laboral en Perú: ¿se afectarán las vacaciones de los trabajadores?"
