Mexico amends its constitution to cut the maximum workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030 and gives 13.5 million workers the legal right to ign
Mexico amends its constitution to cut the maximum workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030 and gives 13.5 million workers the legal right to ignore their boss’s calls, messages, and emails after their shift ends, in the most significant overhaul of Mexican labor law in a generation.
Mexico has rewritten its constitution to guarantee every worker in the country a shorter working week, a legal right to switch off from work after hours, and a guarantee that no employer can cut their pay in response, enacting in a single legislative package a set of labor rights that workers in wealthier countries have spent decades campaigning for without success.
Mexican unions and the Communist Party of Mexico have opposed this 40-hour workday reform, calling it rushed, deceptive and exploitative.
In its current state, the amendment still does not guarantee 2 days of rest (only one). Notably, it increases maximum possible overtime hours from 9 (paid double) to a whopping 12 (paid double) plus 4 (paid triple). With the workweek now 8 hours shorter, employers are incentivized to make use of these 7 additional overtime hours to compensate.
Additionally, the amendment allows an employment contract to define a "flexible" workday. This would allow, for example, a weekly schedule of three workdays lasting 12 hours each (the maximum). Previously, the maximum was 11 hours (8 ordinary, 3 overtime). This could also allow for schedules where certain time windows or activities are excluded from the work day, and thus from the employer's legal responsibilities.
Back in 2025, the CPM had already criticized the reform for being the result of a "dialogue" between all involved parties - excluding workers. In February, unions had already made the above criticisms, and the National Front for 40 Hours had denounced the government's last-minute cancelation of an audience, deceptive claims about supposed consensus, and general rejection of any dialogue.
The Trade Union Workers Section of the Communist Party of Mexico calls for the Mexican working class to reject capitalist counter-reforms, to organize, and to keep fighting for a 35-hour week with 2 days of rest.
