Senate vote puts Brazil’s six-day workweek reform on a fast track

Senate vote puts Brazil’s six-day workweek reform on a fast track
Senate President Davi Alcolumbre has placed a constitutional amendment to end Brazil’s 6x1 work schedule — six days of work followed by one day off — on the agenda for Wednesday, October 14. The proposal would lower the constitutional weekly maximum from 44 to 40 hours, guarantee two paid weekly days of rest and prohibit salary cuts tied to the shorter schedule.

Accounts from the right and left broadly agree on the substance and the parliamentary hurdle: the amendment needs at least 49 votes in each of two Senate rounds. They differ chiefly in emphasis. The Brazil Right account foregrounds Alcolumbre’s institutional role and his assurance that senators will decide “with freedom, conscience and conviction,” while stressing that the chamber must follow its rules.

That account also highlights the political backing from Senator Cleitinho, the governor-elect of Minas Gerais, who thanked Alcolumbre and said, “the worker is the one who wins.” It notes that remaining debate sessions must be completed before the first-round vote, though leaders could approve a procedural waiver allowing both rounds on the same day.

The Brazil Left account places the scheduling decision in the context of the Lula government’s push to secure final Senate approval before the second round of the presidential election. It portrays the measure as a rebalancing of work and rest, with one of the two days off preferably falling on Sunday, and says the government wants to avoid further delays by seeking the same waiver mechanism.

Both accounts make clear that Wednesday would not, by itself, complete the amendment’s path. The Senate must still hold a second vote, again requiring a three-fifths majority. The left-leaning report adds that the change would be phased in, first to 42 hours and then to 40, while preserving pay; it also describes a limited exemption for higher-paid workers with university degrees.

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