The regulations of most countries establish that the working day should not exceed 48 hours per week. However, in many of them a high percentage of employees end up working 49 hours or more, according to statistics from the International Labor Organization (ILO) updated in May 2021.
In places like Yemen and Qatar up to 97% and 88% of the employed people can work longer than the established time.
This reality is repeated in many other countries, where large numbers of employees work longer than the time required by law. Out of 156 nations surveyed, only 16 did not record excessive hours of work.
Countries in the region
Among the Latin American and Caribbean countries with the highest number of employees working 49 hours or more are Bolivia, with an average of 35%; Honduras, with 34%; El Salvador, with 31%; Colombia, with 29%; Mexico, with 28%; Peru; with 26%; Costa Rica, with 20%; and Argentina, also with 20%.
In the case of the Dominican Republic, the estimated proportion is 19% and it is mainly men who work more than the established time. The country’s Labor Code establishes that the normal duration of the working day is determined in the contract, but specifies that it may not exceed eight hours per day or 44 hours per week.
Among the countries with the lowest proportion of employed persons who work excessive hours are Chile, with 13%; Panama, with 12%; Brazil, with 11%; Ecuador, with 10%; Venezuela, with 9%, among others.
In Cuba and Uruguay there are no records of employees who work more than the established hours.
Pope’s approach
Last weekend Pope Francis, when delivering a speech at the World Meeting of Popular Movements, called for a reduction in the working day and at the same time called for a universal salary.
The ILO notes that most countries have adopted legislation that the working day should not exceed 48 hours per week; but although there are many people who work less than this time, there are a large number that exceed that limit.
A report on employment prospects published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2021 indicates that the trend of the usual weekly hours of full-time employees has remained stable since the mid-1990s in most countries, while the time spent on recreation has decreased.
“Since the mid-2000s, the incidence of paid overtime among full-time employees has also remained stable. For those affected, overtime represented, on average, one more day of work per week in 2019, ”the publication states.
Long working hours affect physical and emotional health
Both the ILO and the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned that long hours of work can increase deaths from heart disease and stroke. Their estimates indicate that some 750,000 deaths that occurred in 2016 were linked to this factor.
A report recently published by these organizations indicates that between 2000 and 2016 deaths from heart disease and stroke associated with exposure to long working hours increased by 41% and 19% respectively.
Increase
The number of people who work long hours around the world has increased over time, reaching an estimated 479 million workers, or 9% of the world’s population.
Deaths
Long hours of work caused around 745,000 deaths from ischemic heart disease and stroke in 2016.
Men
72% of deaths occurred among men, according to studies by the ILO and WHO.
The most affected
Workers between the ages of 60 and 79 who had worked 55 hours or more a week between the ages of 45 and 74 were particularly affected.
Actions
To deal with this problem, governments, employers and workers must implement a series of measures, recommend the ILO and WHO.
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