A group of deputies presented a bill to extend the reduction of working hours to be applied in the tourism sector and businesses with limited capacity. The initiative intends to authorize employers to apply this reduction to four periods of three months. The most recent authorization approved the previous January expires next March, recalled María Inés Solís, the Christian Social legislator who leads the plan.
“The plan is that workers can maintain an income from their work and that companies are not forced to proceed with unnecessary layoffs, there is concern in the tourism sector and businesses with limited capacity due to the consequence of the Pandemic crisis. This is because they are already mired in an economic crisis, which has them at a crossroads between the definitive closure or the dismissal of their collaborators,” said the deputy.
The project establishes a series of requirements for employers who intend to take advantage of the initiative:
– Authorization by the Ministry of Labor would only be if the requirements established in this law are met.
– The employer has not abused the mechanisms established by law or incurred in breach of labor legislation
– The employer has supported the employment of people subject to a reduction in working hours, to whom it is intended to extend the period of reduction
– It is shown that current conditions continue to affect the company
– In case of having the guarantee for the reduction of working hours, the employer will be prohibited from splitting the worker’s working hours.
– They will also not be able to pay overtime to employees, but must reinstate another person with reduced hours.
Data reported in the bill indicates that losses in the tourism sector alone could amount to $ 3 billion in 2020.
