Senator Teresa Leitão (PT-PE), government leader in the Senate — Photo: Ton Molina/Agência Senado
The government leader in the Senate, Teresa Leitão (PT-PE), obtained this Tuesday (13) the 54 signatures necessary to submit a request to vote on the same day, in the first and second rounds, on the proposal that ends the 6x1 scale and provides two paid days off for workers.
The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), confirmed that he should vote on the request this Wednesday (14), when the senators will also hold the fifth and final discussion session of the proposal before the first vote.
If the request is approved, senators will be able to vote on the proposal itself.
🔎 To be approved, a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) must have at least three-fifths of the votes in favor in both votes. In other words, getting the support of at least 49 senators.
"This matter will be ready for deliberation tomorrow. Of course it is public, several senators signed a request for a special calendar requested by party leaders. I inform you that there is already the regimental number for the consideration of the special calendar on the afternoon of tomorrow's session", said Alcolumbre.
Government and opposition parliamentarians interviewed by g1 and TV Globo say that there are enough votes to approve the change in the work schedule in Brazil. According to government officials, the idea is to enact the PEC by Thursday (22), days before the second round of elections.
The effort to speed up voting involves breaking the rite of approving changes to the Constitution.
Between voting rounds, there is a rule that states that you must wait five working days and three more discussion sessions. But a request can be made by parliamentarians for this interval not to be observed or to be shortened.
According to Teresa Leitão, the “receptivity” of the measure is “very good”. The leader mentioned that members of the opposition to the government already supported the PEC, even before the presidential candidate and senator, Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), declared a vote in favor of the proposal.
Flávio Bolsonaro had been adopting a critical tone at the end of the 6x1 scale and defending an alternative proposal to reduce working hours conditioned on a reduction in wages. This Tuesday, however, he stated that he will position himself “according to the will of the majority of the people”.
The senator was not present or spoke at any of the four PEC discussion sessions in the Senate plenary.
Among the opposition parties, Republican politicians have already publicly spoken in favor of ending the 6x1 scale. Among them, the current senator and elected governor of Minas Gerais, Cleitinho, and senator Damares Alves (DF).
Reduction in working hours
The proposal was approved by the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of the Senate, on September 2.
The PEC of the end of the 6x1 shift changes the Constitution to reduce weekly working hours from 44 to 40 hours. It also establishes that it is necessary to guarantee two days off with pay, one of them preferably on Sundays.
The big change is to guarantee that workers have two days of rest per week without the possibility of a salary reduction. Preferably, one of these days should be Sunday.
For Brazilian workers to reach 40 hours a week with two days off, there will be a transition period.
If approved, the PEC must follow the following chronology:
in two months, reduction of weekly working hours to 42 hours, with two days of paid weekly rest;
one year after these two months, reduction of weekly working hours to 40 hours.
The change will not apply to workers with higher education who earn more than 2.5 times the INSS ceiling per month, that is, anyone who earns more than R$21,188 per month.
