Brazil's Congress approves a 40-hour workweek ahead of presidential runoff
Brazil's Senate voted 75-1 on Wednesday to cut the longest legal workweek from 44 hours to 40. The change also bans six-day work schedules that about 16 million people work now. It is a win for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before the Oct. 25 runoff.
Brazil's Senate on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that cuts the maximum workweek from 44 hours to 40 and bans six-day work schedules, the Guardian and BBC News Brasil reported. The lower house passed the measure in May.
The vote was 75-1, with only Sen. Hamilton Mourão voting no, the Guardian reported. BBC News Brasil also put the yes votes at 75. The change ends the so-called 6x1 schedule, six days of work and one day off, now worked by about 16 million people, and lowers the weekly limit for more than 30 million workers, the Guardian said. It is expected to mainly affect low-paid workers in shops, restaurants and hotels.
The change will be phased in, BBC News Brasil reported. Once Congress formally enacts it, the limit drops to 42 hours within 60 days, by December, and to 40 hours one year after enactment, around October 2027. The Guardian said the 40-hour limit would come 14 months after the 42-hour step.
The vote hands a political win to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before his Oct. 25 runoff against far-right Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the Guardian said. Bolsonaro opposed the change for months but reversed course on Tuesday, saying "the majority of Brazilian workers" supported it, and voted for it, according to the Guardian.
"Ending the 6x1 schedule is about more than changing working hours. It means more time to live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, look after yourself and enjoy life," Lula wrote on social media, the Guardian reported.
The proposal began as a TikTok movement called Life Beyond Work, the Guardian said. Polls showed more than 70% of the public backed the change, the Guardian reported. Victor Escobar, a political researcher, told the Guardian the change "could indeed benefit Lula's re-election campaign."
What we know: The Senate passed the amendment 75-1, and the 40-hour limit will be phased in.
What we don't: Whether the vote will shift support in the Oct. 25 runoff.
Where outlets agree The Guardian and BBC News Brasil both report that the Senate approved the 40-hour week and the end of six-day schedules.
Where they differ BBC News Brasil says the 40-hour limit starts one year after the amendment is enacted, while the Guardian says it comes 14 months after the 42-hour step that follows a 60-day wait.