The president of the Senate of Brazil, Davi Alcolumbre, has set the vote on the proposal that eliminates the current regime of six working days and establishes a maximum of 40 hours per week without salary cuts for next October 14, in a maneuver by Lula's Government to try to ensure that the measure is on track less than two weeks before the second round of the presidential elections.
The initiative for constitutional amendment, already approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May and sent to the Senate in September, also aims to guarantee two days of paid weekly rest.
The text includes a transition period of 14 months: 60 days after its promulgation, the maximum working hours would be reduced from 44 to 42 hours, and twelve months later it would be definitively set at 40 hours per week.
To move forward, the proposal needs the support of at least three-fifths of the Senate, that is, 49 of the 81 senators, in two rounds of voting. The Workers' Party, the party of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is gathering signatures to promote an urgent procedure that accelerates the second vote, while sectors of the opposition are pressing to postpone the discussion until after the electoral cycle.
According to the Brazilian press, Lula's Government allies are coordinating and claim to already have sufficient support to approve the amendment.
In response to the opposition's criticism for having set the date of the vote, Alcolumbre has justified himself by stating that he is fulfilling his promise to include the matter on the agenda "with responsibility, dialogue, and respect for procedural rules," although he has indicated that the vote will likely take place after the elections.