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Brazil’s Congress has approved a constitutional amendment that will cut the working week from 44 hours to 40 and give employees two days off per week without cutting their salary.<\/b><\/p>\n
The change represents the biggest overhaul to workers’ rights since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1988.<\/p>\n
Senators passed the amendment, which left-wing President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva had championed, less than two weeks before a second round in the Latin American nation’s presidential election.<\/p>\n
Lula’s supporters are hoping that its passage, which is estimated to benefit more than 30 million workers, will boost his chances of closing in on his right-wing rival, Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, in the 25 October run-off.<\/p>\n
The son of former President Jair Bolsonaro won the first round of the presidential election with 47% of the vote, ahead of Lula on 45.2%. Both fell short of the 50% of valid votes needed to stave off a decisive second round.<\/p>\n
Opinion polls suggest that the move to cut the working week is very popular, with one nationwide survey finding that almost 70% of Brazilians backed it. <\/p>\n
The measure had already passed in the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil’s lower house, in May, before senators overwhelmingly backed the measure on Wednesday by 75 votes to one.<\/p>\n
Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, who is currently a senator, dropped his previous opposition to the measure and also cast a “yes” vote. <\/p>\n
Announcing his change of heart on Tuesday, he argued that he had been swayed by the measure’s popularity, commenting: “Most Brazilian workers \u200cwant to \u2060see the end of the six-day workweek, so I’m going to vote in favour of ending it.” <\/p>\n
The younger Bolsonaro had earlier denounced the proposal as an “opportunistic” attempt by his presidential rival to appeal to working-class voters.<\/p>\n
Before his about-turn, he had said that it should be down to employees and employers to agree on a work schedule, rather than restrictions being imposed by a constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n
Lula described Bolsonaro’s policy reversal as “electoral opportunism” and celebrated the amendment’s approval, saying it would make a real difference to workers.<\/p>\n
“It means more time to live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, look after yourself and enjoy life,” he wrote on social media. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n