translated from Spanish: Government submitted its proposal to defer working hours

The Minister of Economy, Lucas Palacios, together with the head of Transport, Gloria Hutt, the Undersecretary of Labour, Fernando Arab, and the president of the Confederation of Production and Trade (CPC), Juan Sutil, held a meeting to discuss the effects of the partial return of workers on the mobility of the communes that entered step 2 of transition. Minister Palacios noted that “we have been in constant work with the various guilds through the private national public table, so that this social and economic activation is gradual and careful. All guilds have shown the best willingness to collaborate with a process of gradually opening up the various sectors, but the mother of all battles is undoubtedly to install a culture of self-care.” We must assume that this virus can accompany us for several more months, which requires that self-care, the use of the mask, physical distance, hand washing, etc. be part of our lives. Let us remember that the more freedoms we have, the more responsibilities we must assume. Every step is an exercise of trust,” he added. Minister Hutt, for her part, said that “we are aware of the impact of the gradual return of activities on mobility. That is why we have met to discuss proposals that encourage people to move. Together with the ministries of labour and the economy, we call for employers to embrace our proposal to implement differentiated working hours. In this way we can help each other avoid or reduce concentrations during peak hours.” In this regard, the Arab Under-Secretary stated that “it is important that there be social dialogue between employers and their workers, that they discuss and generate the necessary agreements related to the return to their work activities. This dialogue must be given, in particular, through its joint hygiene and safety committees.” In addition, from the Government we call on the parties to use deferred entry and exit times, agreeing time blocks, as well as using the Telework Act, which among its various virtues stands out, precisely, to mitigate the transfer times by reducing the possibilities of contagion, also contributing to the decongestion and decontamination of cities,” he added. The CPC president stated that “in the process of returning to work, for companies the priority is the health and safety of workers. To achieve this, we agreed at the Workers-Employers Forum a strategy and actions with the advice of Mutuals, including the implementation of sectoral health protocols, and self-regulation through the signing of a business commitment by the board and the Joint Committee on Hygiene and Safety”. At the instance, the authorities detailed that during the first three days of Step 2 of gradual decon confinement, the Metropolitan Region showed an increase in vehicle flows, which on Wednesday were 13%. The figure reflects an increase in travel, which, in some cases, is a case of work transfers. Yesterday, meanwhile, the transport system recorded a 25.5% increase in beep (passage) validations compared to Tuesday last week. The MTT will continue to monitor city flows to gradually implement the 222 measures included in the National Mobility Plan, designed to address the various phases of the process of progressive decon confinement of the country’s cities.

Original source in Spanish