Repeal of Decree No. 354-2013 Containing the Hourly Employment Law

This law eliminates the Hourly Employment Law and requires all workers hired by the hour to receive full labor rights: fair wages, benefits, social security, paid leave, and job stability. It protects Honduran workers against unjustified dismissal and precarious working conditions.

Whereas, in accordance with Article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic, the laws governing relations between employers and workers are of public order and null are the acts, stipulations or agreements that imply waiver, diminish, restrict or distort a series of guarantees, also of constitutional rank, that regulate: the working day, wages, hygiene measures, health and safety; paid vacations and rest on holidays; seventh day and thirteenth month; indemnification for accidents and occupational diseases; right to strike and lockout; right to organize; job stability; social security, training and technical education, among other aspects.

Whereas, in accordance with studies published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), policies are needed to ensure that all forms of work are decent, since no contractual form is immune to the constant transformations of the world of work and although new technologies have transformed the workplace and new professions have emerged, the effects on the general well-being of people do not change, and it is the responsibility of governments, as well as employers, workers and their organizations, to jointly address the challenges of the world of work with the objective of promoting decent work for all.

Whereas, job stability is a human right, protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 23 numerals 1, 2 and 3; Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Article 7 of the Optional Protocol of San Salvador; and Article 11, subsection c, of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Whereas, work by the hour has been legally regulated since 1974 through Decree Law 121 for the application of minimum wages, for which reason it is feasible to hire workers both by the hour and on a part-time basis; but all labor rights must be recognized and paid; and indefinite contracts must be entered into, as is the general norm of labor law from the constitutional perspective and the Block of Conventionality.

Whereas, the country presents an alarming rate of unemployment, as well as labor precariousness. According to ILO statistical data, unemployment in Honduras during the years 2006 was: 3.1%, 2007; 2.9%, 2008: 3% and 2009: 3.3%, by 2014 unemployment reached 5.5% and in 2017 4.5%. The Secretariat of State in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security does not possess the necessary tools to guarantee compliance with the rights of the working class by various companies and employers, which according to public complaints daily apply diverse forms of evasion in pursuit of the increase and return of their capital, regardless of the level of precariousness of workers' lives.

Whereas, there is testimonial evidence from workers who have been dismissed as permanent staff and then rehired on a temporary basis, or have simply been dismissed and replaced by temporary staff, whereby, in practice, the condition of workers regardless of their age or sex has passed to greater precariousness.

Whereas, there are numerous complaints of lack of protection in matters of occupational health and safety; loss of fair wages; limits on working hours; acquired rights and social benefits of protection against occupational hazards and social security; the right to unionization and collective bargaining; protection against workplace violence; stable locations and safety conditions; and loss of the right to file complaints; among other aspects.

Whereas, in accordance with Article 205 Attribution 1) of the Constitution of the Republic, it is the power of the National Congress: To create, decree, interpret, reform and repeal laws.

Whereas, in accordance with Article 328 of the Constitution of the Republic, 'The economic system of Honduras is founded on principles of efficiency in production and social justice in the distribution of wealth and national income, as well as in the harmonious coexistence of the factors of production that make possible the dignification of work as the principal source of wealth and as a means of realization of the human person'.

Whereas, Legislative Decree No. 96-2021 issued on October 14, 2021 and published in the Official Gazette 'La Gaceta' dated October 18, 2021, Edition No. 35,749, establishes in an exceptional manner and as an extraordinary economic measure that the cost of maritime freight, for purposes of calculating the customs value of goods, shall be determined based on twenty-five percent (25%) of the value stated in the Transport Document (Bill of Lading - B/L).

Whereas, the issuance of Legislative Decree No. 96-2021 was justified at that time by the high import costs derived from maritime freight costs within the framework of the phenomenon called 'container crisis', and whose implication significantly harmed natural and legal persons involved.