The eventual end of the 6×1 work schedule could have a direct impact on the prices of products on supermarket shelves. This is what Erlon Ortega, from Apas (Associação Paulista de Supermercados), said in an interview with Now CNN this Saturday (13).
According to him, the sector is already facing a significant shortage of labor and fears that the change will worsen this situation even further.
Deficit of vacancies and increased costs
Ortega highlighted that, in the state of São Paulo alone, the supermarket sector already records a deficit of 35 thousand vacancies. “A project that takes away 10% of our workforce forces us to hire around 10% more,” he stated.
For him, this generates two central problems: the increase in operational costs and the difficulty in finding available workers to fill the new vacancies needed.
Regarding the impact on prices for the final consumer, Ortega was direct: “We calculate the impact at around 9% to 10%.” He highlighted that the effects would not be limited to the supermarket sector, but would also affect condominiums, hospitals, bars and restaurants. “The impact is mathematical and will arrive on the shelf,” he declared.
5×2 scale alternative is seen favorably
Asked about the possibility of adopting the 5×2 scale with 44 hours per week — an alternative previously mentioned by João Galassi, from the Brazilian Supermarket Association (Abras) —, Ortega stated that several stores in the state of São Paulo already operate in this model with positive results.
“The employee has two days off a week, but he works 44 hours. And this does not imply a very high cost increase”, he explained.
However, Ortega warned that — which represent the vast majority of the 27,000 stores in the state of São Paulo — they would have great difficulty adapting if working hours were reduced without flexible alternatives.
He defended Bill No. 12, under discussion in the Senate, which would allow greater freedom in defining working hours. “We need this to pass, we can no longer have this restriction,” he stated.
Call for balanced debate
Ortega also praised the Senate’s stance in conducting the discussion with more caution than the Chamber of Deputies. He cited a manifesto signed by more than 3,000 entities, including confederations such as CNI, CNC and Fiesp, expressing concern about the impacts of the change.
“It’s the productive sector, the sector that employs, that is showing how harmful this can be if we have this heated discussion,” he said.
For Ortega, listening to the production sector, workers and, especially, consumers is essential for the discussion to be conducted in a balanced and rational way.
He also argued that the modernization of labor relations could bring more than 20 million people who currently work informally into the formal market. “There is no strong company with a weak worker. There is also no strong worker with a weak company. We are on the same side”, he concluded.
