Brazil's Senate approved a constitutional amendment reducing the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours, a victory for President Lula days before the presidential runoff.
Brazil’s Congress has approved a constitutional amendment that will reduce the maximum workweek from 44 hours to 40 hours without cutting salaries. The measure, which guarantees employees two days off per week, was passed by the Senate on Wednesday with 75 votes in favor and one against. The amendment represents the first constitutional reduction in Brazil’s standard workweek since 1988.
The approval comes less than two weeks before the second round of Brazil’s presidential election, scheduled for October 25. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who championed the measure, views it as a significant policy victory. Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing senator and presidential candidate who leads Lula in the first-round results, reversed his previous opposition to the bill on Tuesday. Bolsonaro had previously criticized the proposal as "opportunistic" and warned it could cause "mass unemployment," but stated on Tuesday that "Most Brazilian workers want to see the end of the six-day workweek, so I'm going to vote in favour of ending it."
Bolsonaro voted in favor remotely while campaigning in southern Brazil. Despite his vote, he continued to advocate for an alternative proposal where pay is based on hours actually worked. According to the Folha newspaper, Bolsonaro told business leaders that if elected, he would review parts of the new amendment. Sóstenes Cavalcante, the leader of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party in the Lower House, stated that the senator could "undo the amendment if elected president."
The amendment bans the six-day workweek, currently worked by 16 million people, and affects more than 30 million workers according to government estimates. The changes will be phased in. Sixty days after the amendment is formally promulgated, the maximum workweek will drop from 44 to 42 hours. It will then fall to 40 hours after an additional 14 months.
Workers will be entitled to two paid days off per week, one of which is preferably on Sunday. Employers are prohibited from reducing salaries due to the shorter workweek. The text allows collective bargaining agreements to regulate how the two weekly rest days are arranged. Renata Queiroz Dutra, a labor law professor at the University of Brasília, noted that the provision could weaken the reform and that the change will not reach approximately 38% of workers who are in the informal economy.
Business associations opposed the measure, arguing it would increase production costs and potentially lead to job losses. The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) issued a statement saying the measure "will cause economic losses, layoffs, higher costs passed on to consumers and inflation across the country." The National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism also argued that shorter hours should be negotiated through collective bargaining rather than imposed by the Constitution.
Labor groups and supporters celebrated the vote. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre, who moved the vote forward, said, "One more day of rest means more time for family." President Lula described the approval as a "historic achievement," stating it means "more time to live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, look after yourself and enjoy life."
The amendment is the most significant overhaul to workers' rights in Brazil since the return to democracy in 1988. Its passage is expected to influence the upcoming presidential runoff, with polls indicating that nearly 70% of Brazilians support the change. The reform aligns Brazil with recent trends in Latin America, where countries like Chile and Colombia have also moved to shorten workweeks, though Argentina has bucked this trend.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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