Brazil Workers Win 40-Hour Week as Senate Votes

Brazil’s Senate approved an amendment cutting the maximum workweek from 44 hours to 40 without a salary cut. Senators backed it 75 to 1 in each of two rounds. The measure provides for two rest days and could benefit more than 37 million workers, according to the government. Businesses have 14 months to adopt the shorter schedule.

What the Vote Changes

Former Vice President Hamilton Mourao, who served under President Jair Bolsonaro, was the only senator to oppose the amendment. The Senate has 81 members. After the vote, many senators chanted Lula’s name as Bolsonaro supporters left the chamber.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva backed the measure and was expected to sign it into law the following week. “Today is a day to celebrate a historic achievement for millions of workers,” Lula said in a statement. “This means having more time to live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, take care of yourself, and enjoy life. Those who work so hard to build Brazil also deserve to have time to live.”

The 14-month adoption period became a key point in negotiations. Many business leaders and lawmakers had sought a gradual change spread over 10 years. The final amendment sets the shorter workweek without reducing pay.

Workers outside formal employment won't get the same coverage. The legislation doesn't affect people working in the shadow economy, including freelancers and delivery drivers, according to the article.

Election Pressure and Business Opposition

The Senate vote fell between the first round of the presidential election and the Oct. 25 runoff. Lula hopes the measure will strengthen his standing against Flávio Bolsonaro. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre told a leading senator of Lula’s Workers’ Party after the result, “Didn't I say this was going to work?” He timed the decision to fall between the election rounds, benefiting the incumbent.

Flávio Bolsonaro, who opposed the initiative until early that week, voted for it remotely while campaigning in southern Brazil. Analysts and politicians said his Senate allies stopped blocking the popular measure so it wouldn't damage his neck-and-neck race against Lula. Recent polls showed widespread support despite opposition from many business owners. Bolsonaro allies said they expected the new schedule to raise the cost of living.

Bolsonaro reversed his longstanding opposition on Tuesday, after previously advocating a more flexible payment-by-the-hour system and individual negotiations between employees and employers. He had also repeatedly called the legislation election-motivated. Hours after announcing his support, he told business owners the new Congress could review the measure, O Globo reported. His party could reach a simple majority with allied parties in February.

Workers’ Mobilization and Limits

Dozens of pro-Lula protests held nationwide since the previous week featured calls for a shorter workweek. People celebrated the Senate vote in the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. “We needed the people out on the streets,” said Lunna Normande, 23, during a protest with hundreds of people in Rio. “We will continue to be on the streets until this inhumane work week ends.”

Lula’s government had worked on the proposal since the previous year. “Any change made in an election year can be considered an electoral measure,” said Carla Beni, an economist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think-tank and university. The change follows reductions enacted in Chile and Colombia, whose workweeks were reduced to 40 and 42 hours, respectively. In February, Mexican lawmakers approved a proposal to gradually cut the 48-hour workweek to 40 hours by 2030. Chile’s 40-Hour Law applies to workers covered by its Labor Code without reducing pay. Argentina, under President Javier Milei, moved in the opposite direction and may extend its 48-hour workweek.