On Wednesday, November 27, the newspaper Publimetro published an article entitled “Lack of welfare factor in report against 40 hours is questioned”, in which the opinion of the researcher of the Center for Economy and Social Policies was consulted, Jorge Rosales.
The note addresses the report of the National Productivity Commission (CNP) on the consequences of reducing the working day to 40 hours. This report would express that in five years, after the reduction of the working day was approved, real monthly wages and jobs in the private sector would decrease by 2%.
The CNP used data from the previous reduction in 2005 when the working day went from 48 hours to 45, which, according to their statements, had meant a decrease in employment of 4.5 points in employees who worked more than 46 hours.
According to Jorge Rosales, a report delivered in 2013 by the doctor of economics from the University of Warwick and former employee of the Directorate of Budgets (Dipres), Rafael Sánchez, denies the alleged reduction in wages and employment in 2005.
The CNP report considers only the salary spent on leisure as a welfare factor, and argues that the reduction of working hours would also decrease productivity. Jorge Rosales differs from these statements because productivity increases when working conditions improve, as has already happened in Nordic countries.
