According to La Tercera, President José Antonio Kast's government is preparing a bill with 10 measures for workplace flexibility that would reach Congress before the end of the year. A second stage, planned for 2027, would address severance pay based on years of service. No other media outlet has yet confirmed those timelines.
A figure underlies the urgency. Unemployment reached 9.6% in the June-August quarter, its highest level in more than five years, with almost a million people out of work. According to the official assessment, more than 430,000 jobs are still needed to return to the pre-pandemic trend.
The government points to three causes, in line with Central Bank analysis: a depressed economic cycle, rising labor costs in recent years and advancing automation. A senior government source cited by the outlet acknowledged that no one had anticipated the slowdown in January and that the issue had gone from a priority to a political urgency.
Labor Minister Tomás Rau listed the contents of the first package. It includes a probationary contract and an apprenticeship contract, as well as hybrid work and telework for caregivers. It also provides for flexible start and finish times, the possibility of making up time lost to lateness and authorized absences, flexibility in job duties, exceptional work schedules, and changes to overtime and contract signing.
According to Rau, the aim is to "make it easier to enter employment, allow a better work-life balance" and adapt duties to new production needs. The probationary contract would establish an initial period in writing, with rules depending on the position, so both parties can decide whether to continue. The apprenticeship contract would broaden the age range and strengthen training to create opportunities for more young people.
The second phase would add changes to dismissal compensation and the Sence Law, which regulates state-funded job training, through separate bills. This is the most sensitive point. Sources within the governing coalition acknowledge that changing severance pay will require more political support than the Reconstruction Law, enacted this week, because it directly affects workers.
Who gains and who loses? The measures seek to give employers flexibility and make it easier to hire young people and caregivers. However, severance pay based on years of service is a longstanding protection for Chilean workers, and any adjustment will open a debate with unions and the opposition. The report does not yet detail those groups' positions.
The government maintains that its labor agenda began months ago. A presentation by the Ministry of Labor highlights seven published laws, 12 rulings by the Labor Directorate and six regulations, including the regulation for the Single Employment Subsidy and amendments to the Karin Law, both under review by the Comptroller General's Office.
"The reforms are already underway," Rau said. Universal Childcare, flexibility in the 40-hour workweek through cycles of up to 16 weeks, and the Tourism Labor Statute are awaiting consideration in the Chamber of Deputies' Labor Committee.
