Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday, Oct. 14, approved a constitutional amendment in two 75–1 votes, clearing the way to replace the standard 44-hour week with a 40-hour limit, guarantee two paid days off without cutting pay and end the common six-days-on, one-day-off schedule for covered workers.
The lower house passed the same text in May, so the amendment now goes to formal promulgation by Congress rather than requiring the president’s signature. The change is to be phased in over about 14 months: after promulgation, workers gain two weekly rest days and the limit falls to 42 hours after 60 days, before reaching 40 hours roughly a year later. The government estimates that more than 37 million formal-sector workers could benefit.
The vote is a major labor-policy victory for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has championed the measure ahead of the Oct. 25 presidential runoff. His opponent, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, reversed his earlier opposition and voted for the amendment remotely while campaigning in southern Brazil. Former Vice President Hamilton Mourão cast the only opposing vote.
Supporters celebrated in the Senate after the result, while the reform’s staged rollout gives employers time to adapt to the shorter schedule.