Union centrals defend regulating the end of the 6x1 scale through agreements, avoiding decrees

Presidents of union centrals met with the Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho, this Wednesday (4) to defend that the Lula government (PT) and Congress avoid issuing new rules on the end of the 6x1 scale and leave the definition of how the new working day will be to collective agreements made through union negotiation.

The fear is that regulatory changes made by the Executive or legislative changes will reopen the discussion and serve to "implement setbacks", said the presidents of the three largest unions in the country.

Among the pending points are the calculation of overtime, DSR (Remunerated Weekly Rest) and differentiated working hours.

"We don't even understand why a decree would be needed. The collective agreement is law, it prevails over the law. This has always been the speech of the employers' unions", said the president of the CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores), Sérgio Nobre. "Suddenly, if you're not careful, a decree or complementary law is issued and the whole debate reopens," he added.

The president of Força Sindical, Miguel Torres, defended that collective negotiation between worker and company unions will resolve doubts about the implementation of the new working day. "There is no need to have this debate about PEC [Proposed Amendment to the Constitution], about complementary law. We can resolve 99% by agreement", he said.

The end of the 6x1 scale, approved by a PEC between the first and second rounds of the presidential election, provides for two paid days off per week and the reduction of working hours from 44 to 42 hours per week from December 16th. In December 2027, the working day will be reduced to 40 hours.

Despite requests from the centers, Marinho told the press shortly after the meeting that the government will issue a decree next Monday (9) with rules on the new scale. The rule will include the possibility for the worker to have just one rest a week at some point in the month, as long as, at the end of the 30 days, he has taken eight days off.

In these cases, it would be possible, for example, for a worker to work on a 6x1 schedule one week, and on a 4x3 schedule, with three days off, the other – as long as the model is provided for in the collective agreement.

According to the minister, the decree will not have a specific list of categories affected by the regulation. Companies must individually decide how the scale regime will be applied to their realities, considering the rules set out in the amendment.

Initially, the government planned to establish by law complementary rules for specific categories, such as health workers who work 12 hours of work with 36 hours of rest and professionals who work on oil platforms. The project, however, has been stalled for months in the Chamber of Deputies.

The leader of the PT in the Chamber, deputy Pedro Uczai (SC), said that the bench will discuss this project in a meeting with government representatives on Tuesday (10). "It was clear in the Senate's discussion the need to regulate some points of the 6x1, it is a matter that we will have as a priority until December 16th", he commented.

Furthermore, the leader of the MDB in the Senate, Eduardo Braga (AM), wants a PEC for professions with different working hours. He has not yet presented the text, but argues that a constitutional change will provide more security.

For the president of UGT (General Workers' Union), Ricardo Patah, collective negotiations are sufficient to resolve these problems. He proposes that trade unions make major collective agreements with employers' confederations, to standardize rules across the country.

"It was the model we adopted when Casas Bahia filed for judicial recovery and it was very successful," he stated.