A few days ago, the Government presented a Bill (Bulletin No. 16,092-13) to amend the Labor Code by incorporating a series of rules on the protection of maternity and paternity and the reconciliation of personal, family and working life. This bill is in its first legislative procedure in the Senate.
Its main highlights are:
- Title II of Book II of the Labor Code is renamed "Protection of maternity and paternity and reconciliation of personal and family life”.
This title shall be governed by the following principles:
i. Principle of Positive Parenting, which includes the practical capabilities and functions of the adults responsible for the care, protection, education and development of children.
ii. Principle of Social Co-responsibility, which includes the promotion in society of the reconciliation of personal, family and work life, especially in the case of workers who perform unpaid care work.
iii. Principle of Protection of Motherhood and Fatherhood, which promotes equality of opportunity and treatment between women and men and seeks to ensure the health and well-being of children and their parents.
- These principles shall be especially considered in the regulation of the provision of services in person and in the modality of telecommuting or teleworking.
- Employers must promote work-life balance. Thus, they shall carry out actions aimed at informing, educating and raising awareness about the importance of such reconciliation, by means of dissemination campaigns through the administrative bodies of Law 16,744.
- The Superintendency of Social Security, by means of a general regulation, will provide the guidelines for the execution of these actions and for the delivery of information by the entities administering Law 16,744.
2. New rights associated with these principles are incorporated:
- The right of workers who have the personal care of a child under twelve years of age to request their employer to grant them preferential legal holidays during the school vacation period defined by the Ministry of Education. New Article 76 bis.
- The right of workers to temporarily modify the shifts or the distribution of the daily or weekly workday during the school vacation period, when the nature of their duties so permits, the worker will submit a proposal to the employer, who must respond within ten days. In case of dispute, the Labor Inspectorate will decide. The Union may also request a "transitory reduction of the working day" during this period for these workers. New Articles 76 ter and 376.
- The right of workers who perform unpaid care work for children under 12 years of age or a person in a situation of severe or moderate dependency, so that all or part of their working day can be developed under the modality of telecommuting or teleworking, when the nature of the functions allows it. In the event of controversy on the appropriateness or characteristics of this modality of work, the Labor Inspectorate will resolve. New articles 152 quater P and 152 quater Q.
