Brazil approves 40-hour workweek before runoff

Brazil's Senate approved a shorter workweek on Wednesday, completing congressional passage of a measure backed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff.

The constitutional reform reduces the maximum workweek from 44 hours to 40 hours and provides for two paid days off each week instead of the current one. It targets the six-day schedule known in Brazil as “6x1,” which millions of workers currently follow.

The measure will be phased in over 14 months. It had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and passed the Senate by 75 votes to one.

Omar Aziz, the senator overseeing the bill, called it “the biggest gain for Brazilian workers since the 1988 Constitution.”

The vote came as Lula seeks to close a narrow gap with right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro won 47% in the October 4 first round, compared with Lula's 45%.

A Quaest poll released Wednesday put Bolsonaro at 46% and Lula at 44% in the runoff, a statistical tie within the poll's two-point margin of error.

Flavio Bolsonaro had called the proposal “opportunistic” but voted for it. He said Tuesday that most Brazilian workers he had met while travelling wanted an end to the 6x1 schedule.

Lula accused opponents who switched to supporting the measure of electoral opportunism. Members of his campaign said he is counting on the bill's passage to help his comeback bid.