UPDATE 1-Mexico's Senate backs 40-hour workweek in initial vote

(Adds details on reform implementation) MEXICO CITY, ​Feb 11 (Reuters) -

Mexico's Senate on ​Wednesday approved a ‌presidential proposal to ​reduce the legal workweek to 40 hours from 48, overriding resistance from both ‌unions and the opposition with a revamped version of a previously proposed reform. The initiative was unanimously approved in general terms with 121 ‌votes, and now moves to the lower house ‌of Congress for final debate.

After years of back-and-forth between Congress and the private sector, President Claudia Sheinbaum in December formally introduced a bill to gradually ⁠implement the ​40-hour workweek. The ⁠proposal aims to reduce the workweek by two hours per year until ⁠2030 for some 13.4 million workers.

Opposition lawmakers and union leaders ​have called it a watered-down proposal, arguing that it leaves ⁠loopholes that would not substantially reduce weekly workloads. If the bill passes, the reform ⁠would ​take effect on May 1st, with the first two-hour reduction implemented in January 2027.

Mexico leads rankings in the Organisation ⁠for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for longest working hours, with 2,226 hours ⁠per person ⁠annually. It also has the lowest labor productivity and lowest wages among the 38 member ‌states.