The Senate approves the 'Chair Law' to regulate working while standing for long days: “They are prohibited from sitting because they give a bad image”

This Tuesday, the Senate of Mexico unanimously approved the so-called 'Chair Law' to regulate working while standing for long hours.

This law establishes that workers must have chairs with backrests for rest during the workday, or take periodic breaks when their duties can only be performed standing.

Different sectors force people to work standing for long hours: security personnel, employees of hotels, restaurants and self-service stores.

There are still employers who perpetuate the belief that sitting for a moment gives a “bad image” to their companies, even though the health risks of standing for long periods are widely documented in scientific studies.

This prolonged standing, as it is known in medical terms, causes lower back pain, leg swelling, varicose veins, cardiovascular problems, fatigue, general malaise, neck and shoulder stiffness, and health damage in the case of pregnant people.

The 'Chair Law' seeks to ensure that those who work standing can take breaks throughout the day to avoid repercussions on their health.

Alma Paz, a human resources consultant known on social networks as

, told EL PAÍS in September 2023—when the initiative was brought before the Senate—that the 'Silla Law' arose from the need to review the work situations of Mexicans and ensure decent working conditions for them.

These workers not only have to be on their feet throughout their workday, as companies also assign them cleaning duties, taking inventories, and other daily tasks.

“The workers are prohibited from sitting because, according to them, they give a bad image.

There is no reasonable justification, it is simply something classist.

It seems extremely serious to me that it is thought that a worker is not productive if he is not unemployed,” she says.

“After the 'Dignified Vacations' reform, we realized that it is not the only point that workers have against us and we saw what else we could influence in terms of working conditions.”

The 'Silla Law' proposal was led by Senator Patricia Mercado, of the Parliamentary Group of the Citizen Movement, and received the support of Rodrigo Cordera, member of the National Council of the Citizen Movement and state delegate of Mexico City, and Aurélien Guilabert of Mexicolective, with Alma Paz as a guest.

With the 'Silla Law', sanctions are expected for employers who fail to comply with the provisions, as well as the suspension of activities in case of recidivism.

It is common to see shoe store workers, cashiers, store clerks, security guards, among other occupations, working on their feet for hours without the right to sit down for a moment to rest their feet.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has a clear position on the matter: “Whenever possible, standing for long periods of time to perform work should be avoided.

Prolonged periods of standing work can cause back pain, leg swelling, blood circulation problems, foot pain and muscle fatigue.”

The ILO indicates that if a job must be performed standing, the employer has the obligation to provide a chair to sit at regular intervals.

It also indicates that the floor must be clean, level and not slippery.

In addition, it is necessary for workers to wear appropriate footwear with arch support.

In Mexico, the Federal Labor Law in its article 132 section V, states that companies are obliged to maintain a sufficient number of seats or chairs available to workers in business houses, offices, hotels, restaurants and other work centers. analogous.

However, the 'Chair Law' aims to ensure these conditions for jobs that require standing for entire shifts for reasons of business image.

Alma Paz herself brought to the Senate the testimony of a woman with scoliosis who works as a cashier in a well-known supermarket chain.

The worker told him that she was a month away from undergoing surgery for spinal and foot problems resulting from her working conditions.

“Women are the ones who have the most precarious jobs and they are the ones who in turn have the most violations of workers' rights.

There are even pregnant women working in these conditions.

It is important to have that gender perspective.

If you do a small survey in shopping centers, you will realize that there are many more women cashiers, receptionists and

In restaurants, most female waiters have to wear heels of at least 4 centimeters,” she asserted.

Initiatives similar to the 'Silla Law' have been discussed around the world for more than a century.

Chile, for example, managed to guarantee it in 1914 after the labor movements that fought for the right to rest.

And in Spain, a 'chair law' was passed aimed at working women in 1912, when it was found that working standing caused deformities in their feet, damage to their ovaries and problems related to fertility.

The law was widely criticized at the time and was considered discriminatory for applying only to women, although 99% of the jobs that required standing work fell under its purview.

After criticism, in 1918 the law was also extended to the case of men and remains in place to this day.

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