The government (PT) is trying to take advantage of the rapprochement with the president of the Chamber, (-PB), to convince him to promote a bill that . Planalto believes that the proposal has strong popular appeal and could strengthen the PT member’s re-election campaign in October.
As shown by Sheetincreasingly from Lula in 2026 to guarantee his survival as president of the Chamber and expand his electoral influence in Paraíba. In this sense, he resumed dialogue with the PT leader, Lindbergh Farias (RJ), with whom he had broken relations at the height of the Casa’s crisis with the government, at the end of 2025.
It is Lindbergh who has been leading the conversations with Motta about the end of the 6×1 scale, according to people familiar with the movements. The PT leader has argued that the agenda has popular support and that the president of the Chamber, if he adopts the agenda and helps the government to approve it, will emerge as a protagonist. At the end of last year, the parliamentarian, but without guarantees.
Members of the government core are not sure whether the president of the Chamber is willing to face the pressure that businesspeople in the service sector, mainly, will put against the approval of the proposal.
They also assess that even if Motta adheres to the agenda there is no guarantee that it will be approved. The current president of the Chamber has less control of the House plenary than his predecessor, (PP-AL), for example.
For sectors of the government, adopting the proposal is already a victory. These groups consider that it is a natural agenda for the left, with the capacity to block the right and the center itself in the face of public opinion. It would be a chance for the PT to publish on the networks the names and photos of parliamentarians who voted against or did not support the vote to end this work regime.
To reduce resistance from parliamentarians and the business community to the proposal, the Lula government wants to discuss a transition period until the 6×1 scale is, in fact, prohibited. Planalto feels a favorable climate in public opinion at the moment and fears losing the timing if it leaves the discussion until 2027, even in a scenario of Lula’s eventual re-election.
The discussion about reducing the work schedule began with a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) presented by the deputy (PSOL-SP), but Planalto decided to support the proposal that had the greatest possibility of moving quickly in Congress – in this case, a bill. PECs need two-thirds of the votes in the Chamber and in the , while bills only need a majority of voters in each House.
The proposal embraced by the government is led by deputy Léo Prates (-BA), who took on the role of rapporteur for the project. The text prepared by Prates determines that the weekly working day be reduced from up to 44 hours to up to 40 hours, with two consecutive days of paid rest.
The project prohibits salary reductions associated with reduced working hours. Furthermore, it stipulates a two-year transition to reduce working hours. If the text were approved today, in 2027 there would be 42 hours of work per week, and 40 hours from 2028 onwards.
The project at the end of the 6×1 scale is part of the Lula government’s package of priorities in Congress. This basket of proposals includes the MP (Provisional Measure) of the People’s Gas Program and the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) of Public Security. Planalto has until mid-June to try to approve its topics of interest because of the October elections.
