Government Presses Senate to Approve 40‑Hour Workweek Amendment

The Planalto is racing to secure a pre‑election vote so the Chamber‑approved reduction becomes a centerpiece of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign.

Overview

Minister Guilherme Boulos said Friday he will not accept changes to the PEC that cuts the weekly workweek from 44 to 40 hours and he urged Senate president Davi Alcolumbre to send the text to the Constitution and Justice Commission for a vote.
The Chamber‑approved text calls for an immediate two‑hour cut 60 days after final congressional approval and a further two‑hour reduction spread over up to 12 months while excluding workers who earn above R$21,100 from the limit.
Davi Alcolumbre has kept the proposal stalled in the Senate and has not sent it to the CCJ, using the measure as a bargaining tool while business groups in commerce and services pressure him to slow or alter the proposal.
The executive is coordinating political meetings and mass mobilization with trade unions that are preparing street demonstrations next week to push for a vote during the narrow pre‑election congressional windows.
A private Aug. 4 meeting at Supreme Minister Alexandre de Moraes’s residence sought to repair relations between Lula and Alcolumbre but produced no commitment on the PEC and ongoing Federal Police investigations around presidential allies have sharpened the political stakes for any legislative move.