Members of the PT bench in the Chamber heard by the CNN disagree with the note released by the Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho (PT), which links the reduction in working hours to a collective agreement with unions.
For part of the party, the ministry’s note was “unfortunate” for not seeing the possibility of exit through a PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) that would affect all categories, regardless of union negotiations.
Deputies believe that Marinho should look into this issue after the decision on spending cuts. The PT member’s portfolio is one of those that should be affected by the measures proposed by the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad.
For parliamentarians consulted by the CNNevaluating the exit through politics is a possibility that must be taken into account, as the unions have lost negotiating strength.
However, the bench is of the opinion that the measure to reduce working hours would not have enough votes for approval in plenary at this time.
For now, on this topic, the deputies’ priority is to pressure the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) so that a second Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) — proposed by the party itself — on working hours has a rapporteur.
The PT sees the agenda as a flag that the party has always carried. The party justifies that the PEC authored by federal deputy Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG) has been in progress since 2019 and reached an opinion of admissibility in 2023, with the rapporteur of federal deputy Tarcísio Motta (PSOL-RJ).
However, as Motta left the CCJ, the proposal is at a standstill and would need a new rapporteur to continue the process.
PT deputies also state that there is support from the party for the PEC of congresswoman Érika Hilton (PSOL-SP), however, they reinforce that, if the parliamentarian’s proposal obtains the necessary signatures, it can be attached to Lopes’s.
