Walmart claims to be ready for the so-called Dignified Rest reform, which proposes reducing working hours. The convenience store chain will draw on the technology that helped it navigate and grow during the pandemic to maintain continuous operation, even if employees have to go home an hour early.
The American giant adds almost 194,000 employees in Mexico, in all its formats, of which 55% are women and 45% are men, according to data from its latest annual report.
The initiative, which is being discussed in Congress, seeks to give Mexican workers seven-hour days and a minimum vacation of 12 hours after the first year of work. Companies will have to adapt to a new reality if the reform becomes effective, including the retail chain.
This Friday, the company celebrated the opening of its 300th Walmart Supercenter store in the country, located near Playa del Carmen, in the state of Quintana Roo. With this, 148 associates were added to a store format that has nearly 48,000 employees.
Mariano Fiscella, vice president of operations for Walmart Supercenter and Walmart Express, said that “Walmart’s project in Mexico is long-term” and, in this sense, the company will respect what the labor law dictates, even in the event that enforce a policy with a seven-hour workday . In addition, this would not put daily operations at risk and, where appropriate, the challenges presented by this reform will be resolved with technology that already exists in Walmart’s operations.
In the checkout line, for example, strategies have been developed to reduce the times in which collections are processed through self-checkout machines, home delivery and pick-up service. Therefore, a reduction in working hours would only lead Walmart to use the same technological tools that helped it maintain operations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A store where the most vulnerable have a place
Walmart Supercenter store number 300 was inaugurated in the municipality of Solidaridad, Quintana Roo, very close to Playa del Carmen. And, in addition to the historical figure, this new unit is characterized by being the first regenerative store.
This implies that it will not only donate to Cáritas all the perishable food not suitable for sale but for consumption, it will also generate reforestation projects, make long-term contracts with local suppliers, produce much of its own electricity and strengthen the community. community through labor inclusion.
In Quintana Roo alone, the supermarket chain has created more than 3,500 direct jobs since it came to the entity, Mariano Fiscella highlighted. And more than 56% of the talent that works in the Supercenter units are women.
This inclusion, however, covers people with different abilities. And it is already a company norm to have at least 4% of its workforce made up of workers with these characteristics.
The arrival of technology seems to pose a challenge to include older workers. In fact, the vast majority of employees are already millennials , which has facilitated the transition to e-commerce at Walmart.
But older adults are not far behind. Fiscella explained that, contrary to popular belief, they are fulfilling a very important role, training the youngest in such basic and important tasks as knowing how to choose the best fruit and the freshest vegetables.
These people grew up in a world where fruit was still learned to feel and, in a context of electronic commerce and home orders, it must be guaranteed that perishables arrive in a perfect state for consumption. The younger ones learn this from the older ones, Fiscella said.
