Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM), the rapporteur of the constitutional amendment that ends the 6x1 work schedule (six days of work followed by one day off), presented a favorable report to the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) on Thursday (27) and rejected all 12 amendments filed by fellow senators. The decision keeps intact the text approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May and prevents the bill from having to return to the lower house, according to Poder360.

The proposal, known as PEC 221/2019, changes the Constitution to cut the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours and guarantees two paid weekly rest days, with no salary reduction. The transition happens in two stages: the cap falls to 42 hours two months after promulgation and reaches 40 hours after 12 months. The text preserves collective bargaining and exempts workers with a college degree earning at least 2.5 times the INSS (social security) benefit ceiling, unless a collective agreement says otherwise.

Rejected amendments

According to Poder360, most of the rejected amendments sought to soften the new rights. Senator Izalci Lucas (PL-DF) proposed keeping the 44-hour limit and making any reduction depend solely on collective bargaining. Hermes Klann (PL-SC) and Oriovisto Guimarães (PSDB-PR) tried to create exceptions allowing up to 44 hours in specific sectors, while Hamilton Mourão (Republicanos-RS) suggested writing the 12x36 shift model (12 hours of work, 36 hours of rest) into the Constitution. Other amendments sought to stretch the transition period from just over one year to four years.

Aziz argued that the amendments distorted the proposal, were unconstitutional because they clashed with the amendment's purpose, or created legal uncertainty. In his report, quoted by Agência Senado, the senator noted that the 44-hour limit was set by the 1988 Constitution and has remained unchanged for 38 years.

"Revising this limit is not a rupture, but an update that is long overdue," Aziz wrote. "Establishing a second paid weekly rest day, the core of the proposal and the origin of the broad social mobilization behind it, expands the time available for effective rest and physical and mental recovery."

The Chamber of Deputies approved the amendment in May by wide margins: 472 votes to 22 in the first round and 461 to 19 in the second. The proposal became a congressional priority after Senate President Davi Alcolumbre met with President Lula and Chamber Speaker Hugo Motta on Wednesday (26), Agência Senado reported.

The next step is a CCJ vote on the report. According to Poder360, Aziz is working to place the amendment as the first item on the committee's agenda next Wednesday, during Congress's "esforço concentrado" (a period of intensified voting sessions). If approved in committee, the proposal goes to two rounds of voting on the Senate floor. Because the rapporteur rejected every amendment, if senators pass the text without changes to its substance, it can be enacted directly, without going back to the Chamber.