Honduran rights group calls partial employment law a 'pantomime'

Hugo Maldonado, president of the Honduran Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (Codeh), has strongly criticized the recently approved Partial Employment Law, labeling it a "pantomime." Maldonado asserted that Hondurans urgently require stable and dignified employment, rather than the temporary positions facilitated by this new legislation.

Maldonado argued that the law degrades the social rights of workers and creates discrimination against genuinely skilled labor within the country's companies. The law, approved by the National Congress under decree 45-2026 and effective since March 28, 2026, aims to regulate part-time work, defining it as services rendered for less than the ordinary maximum legal workday. Its stated goal is to guarantee legal security for both workers and employers.

The legislation officially recognizes the enjoyment of labor and social security rights under conditions of equality, non-discrimination, and proportionality relative to full-time work. However, Maldonado remains unconvinced, emphasizing that the law is meaningless without attracting investment to the country. He stated that temporary employment, only available during peak seasons like Easter, Christmas, or New Year's, does not address the needs of over a million Hondurans who require "firm, stable, lasting work" that contributes to improving their personal and family finances.