The approval of the PEC that reduces the weekly working hours and abolishes the 6×1 scale opened a new front of reaction among businesspeople, including Luciano Hang, founder of Havan, who classified the proposal as harmful to economic activity and stated that its effects could especially affect small and medium-sized companies.
In an interview with Folha de S.Paulothe businessman said that the change approved by the Chamber of Deputies should increase the operating costs of retail and industry. In his assessment, reducing working hours from 44 to 40 hours a week tends to put pressure on prices and generate impacts on employment and inflation.
The criticism was accompanied by irony. Hang stated that he would prefer the immediate adoption of an even shorter working day, of four days of work and three days of rest, so that the economic effects of the measure appear quickly.
“Congress should approve 4×3 and implement it in June so that we can see how long Brazil would last,” he declared. “If it’s going to break Brazil, let it be quick.”
According to the businessman, the new journey could represent an increase in costs of between 15% and 20% for companies. In his view, part of this increase will inevitably end up being passed on to the consumer.
Hang argues that reducing working time does not eliminate the need to keep operations running and will require strengthening teams or reorganizing schedules.
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“These costs that will be imposed on industry, commerce and services will be passed on to prices,” he stated. “Inflation will eat into workers’ wages.”
The PEC approved by deputies establishes a gradual transition. The text reduces the working hours to 42 hours per week after 60 days of enactment and to 40 hours at the end of a one-year adaptation period.
Paraguay enters the radar
While following the proposal’s progress in the Senate, Hang also observes alternatives for expanding business outside Brazil.
The businessman confirmed a trip to Paraguay scheduled for the end of June, when he is expected to meet with President Santiago Peña. The objective is to get to know closely the conditions offered by the country to attract investments.
In recent years, Brazilian companies have expanded operations in the Paraguayan market attracted by tax incentives and lower labor costs. According to Hang, several nearby suppliers and businesspeople have already transferred part of their activities to the neighboring country.
“I’m going to visit. I want to see why Paraguay attracted more than 250 Brazilian companies”, he stated.
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