Brazil approves 40-hour working week ahead of presidential run-off

Brazil’s Congress has approved a constitutional amendment reducing the maximum working week from 44 hours to 40, with two days off a week and no cut in pay. The change is expected to benefit more than 30 million workers and comes less than two weeks before the country’s presidential run-off. [1]

The Senate passed the measure on Wednesday by 75 votes to one, after it cleared the lower house in May. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had championed the change. His supporters hope its popularity will help him close the gap with right-wing rival Flávio Bolsonaro, who led the first round with 47% of the vote to Lula’s 45.2%.

Bolsonaro, a senator, voted in favour after previously opposing the proposal. He said on Tuesday that he had changed his position because most Brazilian workers wanted an end to the six-day working week. He had earlier called the plan an opportunistic attempt by Lula to attract working-class voters and argued that employers and employees should agree work schedules themselves.

Lula welcomed the vote and accused Bolsonaro of electoral opportunism. A nationwide poll cited by the BBC found almost 70% of Brazilians supported shortening the working week.

The change will be phased in: the maximum week will first fall to 42 hours after a two-month grace period, then to 40 hours at a later stage. Full implementation will take more than a year.

Supporters argue that two days off will leave workers better rested and more productive. Critics warn that higher production costs could be passed on to consumers through higher prices. [1]