Representative Léo Prates (Republicanos-BA) released this Monday, 25th, his report for the two Proposed Amendments to the Constitution (PECs) that end the 6×1 journey. The text establishes, for example, a maximum weekly workload of 40 hours, a transition that will last 14 months and prohibits any salary reduction. The report was read this Monday in a special committee in the Chamber. The expectation is that it will be voted on in the collegiate and in the plenary this week.
The text has the approval of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government and is a compromise between the current rules and the original content of the two PECs being processed in the Chamber, authored by deputies Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG) and Erika Hilton (Psol-SP).
The project contains nine articles. Prates highlighted that more specific points will be addressed in subsequent laws. After passing through the Chamber, the proposal will still need to be approved by the Senate.
See the main points of Léo Prates’ report on the PECs at the end of the 6×1 round:
Weekly workload
The report establishes a limit of 8 hours per day and a maximum weekly workload of 40 hours. The number is a compromise between the current workload — today, the Constitution defines a maximum of 44 hours — and the original texts of the PECs, which provided for 36 hours per week.
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The 40 hours also follows what the Lula government advocates, which sent a bill suggesting this limit. Compensation of working hours and reduction of working hours will continue to be permitted through an agreement or collective labor agreement, as is the case today.
Categories that already work less than 40 hours per week will not have a proportional reduction in working hours.
Paid time off
The text provides for two paid days off per week for workers, not necessarily consecutive, one being “preferably on Sundays”. Currently, the Constitution only determines “paid weekly rest, preferably on Sundays”.
Conventions or collective agreements may, however, establish a compensatory regime to ensure, on average, two days of rest per week within the month, with at least one day off per week being mandatory.
No salary reduction
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One of the articles in the report determines that the reduction in working hours will be “without any salary reduction, whether nominal, proportional or of any other kind”. This is one of the most criticized points by business entities, who claim that the measure will have a relevant impact on costs. Irreducibility also applies to salary floors.
Transition
The proposal defines a transition period of 14 months for full entry into force after promulgation. There will be an initial reduction of 2 hours per week 60 days after the enactment of the PEC. After another 12 months, another 2 hours per week will be reduced, reaching the limit of 40 hours per week.
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During this period, it will be allowed to increase the daily working duration to redistribute the weekly load.
Negotiation for remuneration
The text determines that the rules regarding duration and control of working hours will not apply to workers with higher education who receive above two and a half benefit ceilings from the National Social Security Institute (INSS), currently R$ 21,188.87. In these cases, working hours control will only occur at the “employer’s discretion or if provided for in an agreement or collective bargaining agreement”. The rule does not apply to public servants or employees of state-owned companies.
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Collective agreements
Conventions and collective agreements between companies and workers must be updated within 60 days after the promulgation of the constitutional amendment.
MEIs and micro-enterprises
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Another article provides that a complementary law “may establish transitional measures, conditioned on maintaining employment levels and mitigating impacts” for individual microentrepreneurs (MEIs), microenterprises and small businesses.
Public contracts
The opinion establishes that contracts already signed by the public administration that depend directly on labor — such as outsourced cleaning, surveillance and maintenance services — will have to undergo amendments to restore the economic-financial balance after the reduction in working hours. In practice, the measure will allow reviewing contract values and conditions to compensate for extra costs with hiring new employees or reorganizing schedules. The text sets a deadline of up to 12 months after promulgation for this adaptation to be formalized.
