Senate showdown nears over Brazil’s proposed end to the 6x1 workweek

Senate showdown nears over Brazil’s proposed end to the 6x1 workweek
Senate President Davi Alcolumbre has scheduled plenary discussion of Constitutional Amendment Proposal 221/2019 for October 6, two days after the first round of Brazil’s elections. The measure would reduce the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours, establish two paid weekly rest days — one preferably Sunday — and bar salary cuts.

The proposal arrives in the Senate after passing the Chamber of Deputies by wide margins in May and winning approval from the Senate Constitution and Justice Committee in September. It still needs at least 49 votes in each of two Senate rounds. If senators preserve the Chamber’s wording, it can proceed directly to promulgation; substantive changes would send it back to deputies.

For supporters, the schedule is a decisive step toward a broader labor-rights change. Chamber President Hugo Motta said the end of the 6x1 arrangement is “closer every day,” calling the reduction in working time a reform in Brazilians’ quality of life. He has described three points as non-negotiable: fewer hours, the end of the 6x1 schedule and preserved pay. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has also made the measure a priority and said he expects it to be approved before the next president takes office.

The institutional message from the Senate is more cautious. Alcolumbre said the matter would be debated with “responsibility, balance and respect for the different perspectives involved.” Earlier discussions included worker representatives, businesses, government officials and specialists. Advocates emphasized rest and wellbeing, while business groups and critical senators raised concerns about higher costs, competitiveness and the scope for negotiating work arrangements.

The Chamber-approved text envisages a phased transition: the limit would fall to 42 hours 60 days after promulgation, then to 40 hours 12 months later. Collective agreements could set compensatory arrangements, provided workers retain an average of two rest days a week.

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