Brazil's Senate has voted 75-1 to end the six-day working week and cap hours at 40, with no pay cuts allowed. A long-overdue right to rest, or a costly risk to jobs?
Sixty days after the change is formally enacted, workers get two paid rest days a week and a 42-hour cap, falling to 40 hours about a year later. Around 15 million formal workers are on six-day schedules. The vote came 11 days before Brazil's 25 October presidential runoff.
What happened
On 14 October Brazil's Senate approved a constitutional amendment by 75 votes to 1, ending the '6x1' schedule of six days' work and one day off. The lower house passed the same text in May, so it needs no presidential approval. Sixty days after it is promulgated, workers get two paid rest days a week, one preferably on Sunday, and the maximum week falls from 44 to 42 hours, then to 40 about a year later. Employers can't cut pay because of it. It is Brazil's first cut to the standard week since 1988.
Why people disagree
Supporters, including President Lula's government and, after a late switch, his runoff rival Flávio Bolsonaro, say workers need more rest and family time. A March Datafolha poll found 71% of Brazilians back shorter hours, and one labour economist says past cuts didn't raise unemployment. Industry groups warn of higher costs: the CNI projects R$267bn in extra production costs and prices about 6.2% higher, and the CLP think tank says over 600,000 formal jobs could go.
What's still unclear
Some industry projections rest on assumptions that differ from the final law. About 38% of Brazil's workers are informal and won't be covered, and collective agreements can shape how rest days work, which some academics say could weaken the reform.
Sources
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