Entrepreneurs are in favor of raising workers' vacation days in Mexico to 12

A great expectation has prompted the proposal of several senators to double the paid vacation days that workers are entitled to in Mexico, when they reach the first year in a company.

The president of the Employer's Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex), José Medina Mora Icaza, said he is in favor of increasing to 12 the minimum number of workers' days in large firms, and gradually in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. He said so during the open parliament “Dignified Holidays”.

Even, the business representative in the Senate is in favor of at least six days off together and that the reform comes into effect as of January 1, 2023 for ease of implementation.

Medina Mora Icaza stressed that proper rest is the most important element for employee productivity and growth, since family interaction, recreation and various personal activities are vital in human life.

“In Mexico, companies, especially medium and large companies, have recognized the need for a greater number of vacation days and without it being in the law, they are already being granted starting with at least two weeks of vacation, so that employees can have that break,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that Article 76 of the Federal Labor Law (LFT) establishes only six days of vacation when completing one year of work, which positions Mexico as one of the countries with the least paid rest days in Latin America, according to the World Policy Analysis Center 2021.

And it is that under this reform scheme, working Mexicans would hardly equal Honduras and Paraguay who have 10 and 12 days of vacation, respectively. While Brazil, Cuba, Panama, Peru and Nicaragua have 30 a year.

For his part, Ricardo Barbosa Ascencio, president of the Coparmex Labor Commission, said that this initiative is the first step to address much more relevant issues that are pending in the world of work and called on the government, unions and the employers sector to migrate from a perspective of “decent work” to one of “decent life for the workers”.

He assured that as a country we must work in strategic areas such as: increasing formality (56 per cent of GDP is represented by informality), raising productivity, constant training for employees, improving education for workers' children, eliminating all kinds of discrimination in the workplace and inclusion.

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