One week after the Chamber of Deputies approved the end of the 6×1 scale, the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP)signaled that he will hold a meeting next week to define the processing of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) that discusses the topic. The idea, however, is not to be in a rush to discuss the text in the Upper House.
The meeting will be held with party leaders and, mainly, Otto Alencar (PSD-BA)president of the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission). The objective is. Alcolumbre has already sent an alternative PEC filed by the opposition to the board, but still.
The tendency is for the meeting to be held next Tuesday (9). Some points are still questioned by the opposition and businesspeople. Representatives from sectors have been pushing to delay consideration of the text. They met with Alcolumbre, when the Chamber was still debating the agenda, to ask for more time to analyze the PEC.
Businesspeople have been against the advancement of the proposal in the National Congress and argue that the discussion cannot take place during the election period.
The government was concerned about the progress of the PEC in the Senate. This is because the Executive and Legislative branches went through a moment of great tension after the historic disapproval imposed by the Upper House on the appointment of Jorge Messias to the STF (Supreme Federal Court). Representatives from Palácio Planalto stated that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) would seek dialogue with Alcolumbre to speed up discussions.
Even before the Chamber finalized the analysis of the PEC, Alcolumbre conditioned the vote in the Senate in the first semester on approval in the Lower House by the end of May. Two weeks after the deputies’ deliberations, the president of the Senate said he intends to continue the debate, but with reservations.
During a speech at the plenary session on Tuesday (2), the senator asked for “time” to analyze the text. After, . Finally, he signaled changes to the text since, for him, the Senate would not be a “stamp” house for the Chamber.
“We cannot be a House that stamps proposals approved in the Chamber. It is a very relevant issue for Brazilian workers and entrepreneurs. I hope that the Senate can have reasonable time to release itself from this proposal of such magnitude, listening to the sectors and workers”, he said during the session.
Alcolumbre also said that he is “neither for nor against” the proposal, but that he hopes that the PEC will be improved by the senators “calmly and without rushing”.
The pressure to approve the text in Congress comes not only from the government, but from congressmen from the center. A large number of deputies and senators will run for re-election and intend to use their support for the PEC in the search for votes. Even so, the senator stated that he will decide the procedure “with time”.
“It’s a 200-year-old House, we have to be careful, especially in a year of electoral debate. A lot of things cannot come to light because of the election. There are 81 of us [senadores] equal. We cannot wait for the text to arrive in the morning and vote in the afternoon. Don’t force me, don’t attack me, don’t threaten me. I will decide in my time,” he said.
The vote in the Chamber imposed additional pressure on Alcolumbre, since the PEC was approved with a large majority by the deputies – with more than 460 votes in both rounds.
Government deputies left the vote saying that this entire scenario places a responsibility on the Senate to approve the text in the first half of the year. The parliamentary recess is scheduled to begin on July 18. The government’s perspective is, until then, to vote on the text in two rounds in the Upper House and ratify the proposal that will be used as the main electoral flag.
The PEC approved by the Chamber also establishes a 14-month transition to reduce the working day from 44 hours to 40 hours per week in two stages with a reduction of two hours each, without a reduction in wages. The first will be done 60 days after the text is promulgated. The second will be done 12 months later, totaling 14 months after the promulgation of the new amendment.
