translated from Spanish: Government presents labor modernization project without delivering key data: what will be the impact on employment?

After a new commemoration of the day of the worker, the Pres the Republic Sebastián Piñera idente presented on Thursday the second draft of the labor reform, which includes key measures the adaptability of working hours in order to make more flexible schedules and regulate the conditions of the workers who provide services for digital platforms.
The curious thing about the announcement is that the Government did not reveal their estimates of what will be the impact that will have the project on employment. “We have not done that calculation, but we are certainly going to be doing, we have some preliminary estimates,” was the response of the Minister of Hacienda Felipe Larraín who participated also this morning at the signing of the project accompanying the President Sebastián Piñera.
In any case, the head of public finance Yes played with a turnover to point out that the “fiscal cost of this project is not significant from the point of view of fiscal resources but does exist, are $1,200 million a year that has to do with the extension of the its” bsidio to the youth employment”.
The axes of the plan
On the occasion, the President said that this new “project of modernization work for the conciliation work, family, and Inclusion”, allows a restructuring of the working day, which will be adaptable to the “realities and necessities” of the workers, having the possibility to agree on weeks with only four days of work.
The proposal of the Executive is among its major axes to establish about 180 labor hours per month, and also have the feasibility of distributing the 45 hours a week in different ways during the working days.
“If you ask me who won with this modernization work, I answer… First, win women, youth, the disabled, senior citizens, but in general all workers of Chile earn, earn the Chilean families”, said the President.
Among other aspects of the initiative, the working hours may be distributed in no less than four days and more than six, so the people will be able to work Monday through Thursday and Friday rest Saturday and Sunday.
Trade unions may agree on different six-monthly or annual working hours, and in the event that a company does not have a Trade Union applies the decision of the majority of workers. This allows that in the case of people of the third age, they can work more during the summer months, and less during the winter months.
According to the Minister of finance, said “none of this can be imposed: workers can remain on their day if they so wish, but also a chance with more flexible hours, displacing working hours to a few days to be able to leave before the” Friday, to, for example, does not work on Fridays, having that option, to be able to accumulate overtime for holiday periods”.
Regarding the criticisms of the CUT part of the labor day, ahead of its rejection of this initiative, Pinera said that “nothing of what is contained in this project is to dismantle the rights of workers, which is the automatic reaction, immediate e” thoughtless against any attempt to modernize our labour legislation”.
“This draft law which seeks is to strengthen the rights of workers, expand their areas of freedom and allow a better addition to the world of work and a better alignment of that world with others such as the world of the family, the” recreation, culture, friends”, said the head of State.
Platforms and inclusion
The project provides also a contract of formalization, which seeks to promote the formalization of labour events special, occasional or non-permanent; and the regulation of the economies of platform, this through the issue of fees, making sure ballots as well access to social protection (law of fees).

“We are preparing ourselves for the challenges of the 21st century. Here, respecting the rights of workers, what do we do? Workers in Chile have more opportunities, “argued the Minister Larraín.
In that vein, stressed that “are trying to do to answer the challenge leads the technological advancement that is threatening many jobs and is why it is important as element for the Chilean economy to adapt, for workers” Chileans can take advantage of the enormous opportunities of technological change and to have greater adaptability.”
In addition, in terms of inclusion, which is part of the third axis of the project, the Minister of Trabajo Nicolás Monckeberg announced that the Act of Inclusion for people with disabilities, shall be perfected as barriers “some” of access to jobs in the sector public; the fines in the private sector make monthly when it fails and those companies that opt for alternative measures, do so through the delivery of a scholarship”.