The Federal Labor Law (LFT) governs ordinary work days in Mexico. In its Chapter II of the Third Title (Working Day) it establishes that:
The ordinary daytime workday may not exceed eight hours, the nighttime workday seven hours, and the mixed workday seven and a half hours; Overtime may only be carried out in extraordinary circumstances, without exceeding “three hours a day, not even three times in a week.”
These provisions reflect that traditional schemes of extremely long working hours They are already, in principle, outside the general norm.
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The reform announced: 40-hour work week
The Government of Mexico has announced that the maximum working day will be reduced to 40 hours per week. In an official statement from the Presidency of the Republic it is stated:
“We will gradually reduce the working week until reaching a total of 40 hours per week by January 2030 at the latest.”
The initiative is being processed (or under discussion) in the Legislature to reform the LFT or other relevant labor laws.
How does this link to 72-hour on-call for doctors?
In a media outlet it is reported that the president assured that the 40-hour day “will include without exceptions for health sectors.” But so far no specific regulation or decree has been published detailing how the guard scheme will be adjusted. (for example, those of 72 continuous hours) for doctors before the 40-hour reform.
The initiative presented in the SIL to reform the LFT mentions that the weekly working day “may not exceed 40 hours” for workers, including a section that refers to health personnel, although the text does not yet expressly regulate “72 hour guards”.
The current LFT also already provides that prolonged working hours outside the ordinary limits must considered overtime and duly compensated.
Implications for doctors who currently work 72-hour shifts
If the 40-hour weekly shift is fully implemented and extended to the health sector, the extended 72-hour on-call scheme It would be in tension with the principle of the established ordinary working day.
However, the key is in the regulatory transition: there is a lack of regulations that establish how long shifts will be converted into shifts compatible with the new shift, or how they will be legally compensated (overtime, breaks, etc.).
About the boarding schools and medical residences (where young doctors perform shifts that can last up to 72 continuous hours) Sheinbaum said that These are governed by a scholarship scheme and not standard labor contracting.
Even if the reform comes into force, it is most likely that there will be adaptation periods, protocols for medical residences, institutional agreements and adaptations to the on-call regime.
Until a specific regulation or decree is published that addresses on-call in the health sector (and its relationship with the 40-hour day), There is a regulatory gap that prevents us from stating that 72-hour guards “will be eliminated” automatically.
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With information from the Government of Mexico
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