The Impact of the reforms to the Labour Law on The Quality of Life of Workers

Abstract

Introduction: In the decade of the 70's, neoliberalism was considered the answer to alleviate world economic problems, which fought for the progressive dissolution of economic and political borders. The free flow of money from rich countries in the Europe and North America region to the vast poor regions of Africa, Latin America and Oceania was thought to be sufficient as a strategy to eliminate poverty and end recurring economic crises. At the same time, globalization is developing as a process of integration of all communities around the world in the economic, political, technological, social and cultural spheres, achieved by the unprecedented development of communication systems. This technological advance favored the exchange of products and services, the connection or movement of people, also facilitated investments and financial transactions between distant or emerging markets, actions that were previously very difficult, highly expensive or unviable. The combination of both phenomena has modified the way in which countries, companies and individuals interact in such a way that, in this last part, it has had a direct impact on the labor market, which in turn has modified the legal and political environment of many regions of the planet. To achieve the competitiveness requested internationally, one of the key factors was the legislative changes in labor matters. The concept of flexible employment is the basis for modifying the old law, to let market forces define its quality. Objective: In this study, a comparison is made between the current Federal Labor Law, with respect to the predecessor regulations, taking as the basis of comparison the concept of quality of life and the indicators proposed by different international entities, which are used for its evaluation. Method: The aforementioned indicators were analyzed, under a binary rating system, to make the accumulated (cumulative indicator) and which is the element of comparison. The innovation is based on qualifying each article of the Law according to the concepts of quality of life and well-being typified by international entities; This proposal for the evaluation of the working conditions of workers in Mexico is considered more objective when addressing material well-being, the elements of social security and personal fulfillment. Results and conclusions: A loss of elements related to food safety, access to health and education, setback in terms of occupational safety is identified, which in global terms is lower than international indicators, causing job insecurity, and in terms of development represents a throwback of the concept of well-being.