Pre-candidate for president of the Republic, Romeu Zema (Novo) indicated in an interview that he may propose changes in legislation to expand the possibilities in which young people can work in Brazil, if he is elected to lead the country. Currently, the minimum age is 16 years old, which drops to 14 years old in the case of young apprentices.
When commenting on the matter, Zema used the term “child” when defending the measure. After the repercussions, he published a new video, in which he maintains his position, but starts using the term “adolescent” instead of child.
“When I was a child, it was allowed to get a work permit at the age of 14. Unfortunately, in Brazil this idea was created that young people cannot work. I know that studying is a priority, but every child can be helping with simple issues, which are within their reach”, said Zema on the Intelligence Ltda podcast on Friday, the 1st, Labor Day.
He reported that, when he was a child, he helped his father count screws and nuts and wrap the products in newspaper. “The left has created this notion that working harms children. Abroad, in the United States, children go out delivering newspapers, they receive I don’t know how many cents per newspaper delivered, in the time they have. Here, prohibited, you are enslaving children. But I’m sure we will change that there”, continued the former governor of Minas Gerais.
After the statement to the podcast, the Novo pre-candidate’s press office released a new speech by Zema, in which he says he wants to provide “job opportunities” for teenagers.
“In Brazil, this is already allowed from the age of 14 as an apprentice, but we need to expand these opportunities, with protection and without disturbing the school,” said Zema.
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According to him, the measure is necessary because decent work builds character and discipline and prevents young people from joining organized crime.
Former global director of education at the World Bank, Cláudia Costin sees problems with Zema’s proposal, whether for children or teenagers. “The proposal will harm children and goes against the International Labor Organization, which clearly states that during compulsory school age, which in Brazil is up to 17 years old, there should be no work. We even admit some exceptions, but they are very rare”, he said.
Costin points out that Brazil today has a problem with teenagers aged 16 to 18. Legislation allows them to work as long as it is not in unhealthy, dangerous conditions or at night. Because of this last limitation, many young people have enrolled in night school to work during the day.
“The school hours at night in Brazil are even less than the five hours (scheduled for regular high school). It ends up being three hours and there are often no classes on Friday,” he said. “In a world where artificial intelligence is replacing work at an unprecedented rate, these young people are candidates to become precarious workers,” he added.
The expert recalls that Brazil is currently facing stagnation in labor productivity, because previous generations had low levels of education – access to primary education was only universalized in the early 2000s.
To combat the problem, Costin defends a solution different from Zema’s: increasing the time young people spend in schools. “We are not going to face learning problems by making school classes as low as they are today. Many states are already moving towards full-time schooling,” he said.
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The Federal Constitution establishes that the minimum age for work in Brazil is 16 years old. The exception is apprentices, who can sign special employment contracts from the age of 14.
In these cases, however, the focus is not on the work itself, but on the young person learning a profession – usually at a technical level. Furthermore, it is mandatory that the teenager is enrolled in school, the work schedule is compatible with school activities and the working day is limited to three hours per day.
In Brazil, the minimum age for work was 12 years old according to the 1967 Constitution, promulgated during the military dictatorship. From 1988 onwards, it rose to 14 years and, ten years later, in the Pension Reform approved by the Fernando Henrique Cardoso government, it reached the current 16 years.
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Data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) indicate that the country had 1.6 million children and adolescents between 5 and 17 years old in child labor in 2024.
Child labor is characterized as work that interferes with schooling and is harmful to health and mental, physical, social or moral development. Since 2016, there has been a 21.4% drop in the number of people in this situation.
In addition to the issue of work, Zema also defends the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility, currently 18 years old, to “16 years old or less”, in accordance with the guidelines of his government plan that were published on a website linked to the Novo Party and which has been publicized by his pre-campaign.
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The former governor of Minas Gerais has had difficulty taking off in the polls, even after being in the spotlight due to his criticism of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and a public discussion with minister Gilmar Mendes.
In the Atlas/Bloomberg survey released at the beginning of the week, the former governor has 3.1% of voting intentions in the first round, tied for fourth place with Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), who has 3.3%.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) leads with 46.6%, followed by Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) with 39.7% and Renan Santos (Missão), with 5.3%.
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