The Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho, defends the priority given by the Lula government to the discussion on the end of the 6×1 scale in 2026 and believes that it is possible to immediately reduce the working day from the current 44 hours to 40 hours per week, before starting a gradual reduction to 36 hours.
Last week, the president himself declared that the country and the economy were ready to face the end of the 6×1 scale. In Congress, House Speaker Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) said the topic would “certainly” be discussed next year.
In Congress, two fronts are being advanced in this discussion: a project from the House Labor Committee which provides for a 5×2 scale and a 40-hour work week and a PEC (draft amendment to the Constitution) ready to be examined in the plenary session of the Senate which provides for a maximum of 36 hours and two paid days of rest.
Marinho says the government’s position on the 6×1 scale is very clear. “The 6×1 scale is the cruelest in the world, especially for women. And I believe that Brazil and the Brazilian economy are fully ripe to review the country’s maximum working hours and, at the same time, eliminate the 6×1 scale,” he says.
The minister argues that improving the quality of life of workers would have an impact on productivity and on the working environment itself. “We are convinced of the importance of reducing working hours without lowering wages to improve the quality of the employment relationship,” he says.
For Marinho, a drastic reduction from 44 hours to 36 hours would not be viable. “Personally, as Minister of Labor, I do not see the possibility of reducing all of this at once to 36 hours. This would have a huge impact on the labor market, on business costs, which would be absorbed at once. It would have to be done gradually,” he says.
On the other hand, he believes that it is now possible to implement a weekly reduction of four hours. “In my opinion, if we immediately reduce work to 40 hours per week and begin a study process to gradually reach 36 hours, the government has no restrictions to work on this process,” he says.
He advocates an agreement between workers and employers on the subject and also to make the 5×2 scale viable. “We must guarantee the rights of workers and guarantee the needs of the economic sector,” he says.
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