In a historic move that marks the most significant expansion of Brazilian workers’ rights since the country’s return to democracy in 1988, Brazil’s Congress has formally approved a constitutional amendment that will reduce the standard workweek from 44 to 40 hours, guaranteeing full pay for all employees alongside a mandatory two-day weekend. Championed by left-wing incumbent presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the reform’s passage comes less than two weeks before the country’s high-stakes October 25 presidential runoff election, opening up new political dynamics in the tight race.
After the amendment cleared the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil’s lower legislative house, back in May, senators delivered a landslide endorsement of the policy on Wednesday, approving it by a 75-1 vote. The vote followed weeks of public pressure and pro-reform rallies held by national trade unions, with polling consistently showing broad public support for the change. A nationwide survey found nearly 70% of Brazilian adults back the shorter workweek, a level of popularity that prompted a last-minute policy shift from right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Flávio Bolsonaro, who currently holds a Senate seat and led the first round of voting with 47% of the vote compared to Lula’s 45.2% (neither candidate hit the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff), had previously opposed the amendment, dismissing it as “opportunistic” political pandering to working-class voters from his rival. He also argued that work schedule arrangements should be left to negotiations between employers and individual employees, rather than enshrined as a constitutional right. However, facing overwhelming public support for the reform, Flávio Bolsonaro reversed his position ahead of the final vote, announcing he would back the change. “Most Brazilian workers want to see the end of the six-day workweek, so I’m going to vote in favour of ending it,” he explained Tuesday ahead of the vote.
Lula quickly dismissed Bolsonaro’s reversal as “electoral opportunism” while celebrating the amendment’s passage, framing the reform as a transformative win for working people across the country. “It means more time to live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, look after yourself and enjoy life,” Lula wrote on social media following the vote. Lula’s backers believe the reform, which is projected to deliver improved working conditions to more than 30 million Brazilian workers, will give his campaign a critical boost in the closing days of the runoff race as he seeks to close the narrow gap with his rival.
The policy has not been without its critics, who have warned that shorter working hours will drive up production costs for businesses, with those added expenses eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices that could fuel existing inflationary pressure in the Brazilian economy. But supporters of the reform push back against these concerns, arguing that a two-day weekend will allow workers to rest more fully, translating to higher productivity and better output during working hours that offsets any added costs. Parent advocacy groups were also among the notable backers of the change, highlighting the benefits of increased family time for working parents.
The shorter workweek will be rolled out in a phased transition to give businesses time to adjust. After a two-month grace period, the standard workweek will first be reduced to 42 hours, before dropping to the final 40-hour benchmark at a later date. The full rollout is expected to take more than a year to complete, but many workers who stand to benefit are already celebrating the change. For Luciana de Almeida, a 36-year-old single mother and supermarket cashier working six-day weeks in Rio de Janeiro, the reform will be life-changing. Almeida, who currently only gets one day off a week that is almost entirely consumed by housework, said she has missed out on critical time with her three children. “My body, and my mind in particular, are very tired,” she told BBC Brasil. “I need time with my daughters, have some leisure time, or even just some time resting at home.”