After months of extensive discussions in Congress, on March 3, 2026, a decree was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation reforming sections IV and XI article 123(A) of the Constitution of the United Mexican States to reduce the working week to 40 hours.
This reform represents a historic change in the Mexican labor regime and is one of the most significant changes in recent decades. However, it also presents significant challenges and implications for the country’s productive sectors.
In general terms, the reform modifies the constitutional framework applicable to the work week, reducing it from a maximum of 48 hours to 40 hours. Although these modifications have been in the constitutional text since the day of its publication, the legislative body established, in the third transitional article, a gradual implementation plan that allows companies and employers to adapt their operating models to these new guidelines.
This means that the reduction in working hours will not be immediate, but will be reduced progressively by two hours per year until reaching 40 hours in 2030:
One of the central principles of the reform is to preserve the integrity of workers’ wages and benefits, so the reduction in working hours cannot implicate a decrease in said figures.
Likewise, the decree maintains the constitutional principle recognizing the right of workers to enjoy one day off with full pay for every six days of work.
On the other hand, the reform also generates relevant changes in the rules on overtime pay, stating that overtime work may not exceed 12 hours per week and may be distributed up to a maximum of four hours per day, and four days per week, which will be paid at double the normal rate (wage plus an additional 100%), and triple time for hours exceeding this limit (wage plus an additional 200%).
The challenge posed by this reform is clear: maintaining adequate levels of productivity under new parameters that involve fewer working hours. In particular, the mining sector faces significant challenges in terms of its continuous production schemes, which sometimes require rotating shifts and workdays organized in long cycles, especially in the case of projects in remote areas or those that operate through camp systems. In this context, the progressive reduction of the working day will require a careful review of the rotation schedules and shift lengths currently used in the sector.
Adapting these schedules to the new weekly hour limit requires mining companies to carry out a detailed analysis of the effective distribution of their working hours, as well as compliance with the new constitutional parameters.
There is no doubt that we are witnessing a historic reform that seeks to balance productivity with the well-being of workers. For the mining industry, the main challenge will be to adapt its unique operating schedules to these new guidelines without compromising the continuity of its operations or the competitiveness of its projects.
At ALN Mining Law Firm, we remain at your disposal to provide advice on these new constitutional parameters, as well as to assist in the review and adaptation of internal policies and compliance strategies to ensure comprehensive and efficient compliance with the new legal provisions.
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