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Brazil approves 40-hour working week in boost for Lula ahead of election run-off

Senate passes constitutional amendment by 75 votes to one, with challenger Flávio Bolsonaro among those backing the change

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Brazil's Congress has approved a constitutional amendment cutting the working week from 44 hours to 40 hours and guaranteeing employees two rest days per week without any reduction in salary, handing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a major political victory less than two weeks before the presidential run-off.

Senators passed the measure by 75 votes to one on Wednesday, after it had already cleared the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil's lower house, in May. The change is the biggest overhaul of workers' rights since Brazil's return to democracy in 1988 and is estimated to benefit more than 30 million workers.

The vote lands in the middle of a tight election campaign. Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, won the first round of the presidential election with 47% of the vote, ahead of Lula on 45.2%, setting up a decisive second round on 25 October. Lula's supporters hope the reform will close the gap.

The measure's popularity appears to have reshaped the politics around it. One nationwide opinion poll found that almost 70% of Brazilians backed the change, and trade unions held rallies in its favour in recent weeks. Flávio Bolsonaro, who currently serves as a senator, had previously opposed the amendment but announced he would vote for it, saying: "Most Brazilian workers want to see the end of the six-day workweek." He was among the 75 senators voting yes.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The amendment is the biggest change to Brazilian workers' rights since 1988, touching an estimated 30 million people.
  • It lands days before the 25 October run-off between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, a race separated by less than two percentage points in the first round.
  • With nearly 70% public support, labour policy has become a decisive issue in the election's final stretch.

Background

The reform follows campaigning by trade unions and grass-roots movements against the "6x1" schedule, under which many workers labour six days a week with a single rest day. Constitutional amendments in Brazil require large legislative majorities, which helps explain the scale of the Senate vote and Flávio Bolsonaro's decision to back a measure he once opposed. The change is the most significant expansion of workers' rights since the end of military rule and the 1988 constitution.

Key Perspectives

Lula and his backers: They see the vote as proof that a left-wing government can deliver popular labour reforms, and hope it mobilises workers ahead of the run-off. Flávio Bolsonaro and the right: Facing a measure most workers support, Bolsonaro abandoned his earlier opposition rather than campaign against it, a sign of how the reform shifted the political calculation. Critics and employers: Open public opposition is scarce, but the economic burden of shorter hours without pay cuts falls on businesses, and the impact on productivity and hiring is likely to be debated after the election.

What to Watch

  • The 25 October run-off result, and whether Lula narrows the gap from the first round.
  • How the new 40-hour week and two rest days are rolled out in practice once the amendment takes effect.
  • Whether the reform influences labour debates elsewhere in Latin America.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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