News

The Chilean National Confederation of Commerce, Production and Services, CONATRACOPS, under the terms of the law enacted today Monday 30 March 2014 granting more rest time on Sundays for Chilean commerce workers, notes the following:

The recent law grants retail workers additional Sunday rest days. Currently there are two Sundays a year that are rest days; that number will be increased to seven.

Furthermore, the law is applicable to all workers who work more than 20 hours a week, unless they are contracted to work on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays.

The law also states that, subject to a written agreement between the employer and the trade union, up to three of the Sundays in question may be replaced by a Saturday which will come attached to a Sunday off.

An important aspect of the new law is that the no monetary compensation can be made in lieu of Sunday rest, nor may rest days be carried over from one year to the next.

Moreover, the modification introduced by the law states that whatever hours a worker is contracted to work, all Sunday work shall be paid an additional 30% above the standard hourly rate.

By the same token, the normal hourly rate and the 30% bonus will be used as a basis for calculating any overtime worked on a Sunday.

The law comes into force on 1 April 2015 and applies to all Chilean retail workers. It specifies that the seven Sundays rest days will be granted during the contract year of each worker.

For us there is no doubt that the new legislation marks a major step forward in providing longer rest periods for workers in the Chilean commerce sector and also improves the pay of workers who work on Sundays.

The law also recognizes the important role played by the train union in that if one of a maximum of three non-working Sundays is transferred to a Saturday, or if a Sunday rest day is transferred to a Saturday in conjunction with a Sunday off, such a change must be approved by the union.

These provisions were the fruit of a tripartite agreement between the workers, the employers and the government. CONATRACOPS played an important role in securing an agreement which has now been incorporated into a law that will benefit all commerce workers in the country.