The Minister of Entrepreneurship for Microenterprises and Small Businesses, Márcio França (PSB), said that the end of the 6×1 working day is “inevitable” and that the government should subsidize the scale reduction for smaller entrepreneurs.
The minister also compared the idea of reducing working hours with incentive programs given to agribusiness and export sectors.
The topic gained repercussion this week due to the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC), presented by Erika Hilton, leader of the PSOL – Rede federation in the Chamber of Deputies, which proposes the extinction of the 6×1 working day.
The PEC proposes replacing the 6×1 working day – in which employees work six days a week, taking one day off – with a 4×3 working day, with four days on and three days off.
“It is inevitable [o fim da escala [6×1] because all the countries in the world that are more developed or that have already gone through the Brazilian stage a little, especially in Europe, this issue of official work time was being reduced so that people could have more time to enjoy their life and also to generate more jobs, obviously”, said minister Márcio França in an interview with Poder360this Saturday (16).
“And there is only one way to do this, it is for the government to cover this part of this plus, so, if some way is done to make a reduction, it is not assumed that the businessman will take from his resources and find another employee to be able to put. Especially because, in the country, small entrepreneurs make up 95% of Brazil’s CNPJs. These people don’t have a break so they have some space, not even sometimes for themselves. So, the government will increasingly have to act to create mechanisms to generate employment, as we do, for example, with agriculture”, he added.
Tax reduction
The minister also said that one of the ways to compensate for the reduction in working hours would be to reduce taxes.
“If the person has less tax, there’s more for them. She would also like to have more. It would be nice if she had Saturday off, but someone has to cover that space and that space has to be paid for with resources that, indirectly, end up belonging to all of us”, said França.
There are no studies on the impact of the PEC
The initiative comes in the wake of the Life Beyond Work Movement (VAT), which has gained strength on social media since September last year.
It all started with a post against the 6×1 journey made by activist Rick Azevedo, who worked as a store clerk.
The topic went viral and, since then, the movement managed to gather 1.5 million signatures on a petition in favor of reducing working hours.
When defending the proposal, Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP) said that the PEC is only based on scales adopted in other countries, but that it does not even have a study of the impact it would cause on the Brazilian economy.
Reviews
Analysts interviewed by People’s Gazette they say the proposal is populist and could be a “trap” for companies and employees.
Politicians and representatives of entities have also used social media to criticize the project.
On Tuesday, the executive president of the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel), Paulo Solmucci Júnior, called the proposal a “stupid idea”.
According to the businessman, the demand for bars and restaurants open seven days a week comes from customers and failing to serve them would create a financial problem.
