Senator Omar Aziz, the rapporteur in Brazil's Senate for the bill ending the so-called 6x1 work schedule (six days of work followed by one day off), plans to present a text allowing a transition period of up to one year to reduce the standard work week, along with exceptions for specific sectors. The news was reported Wednesday, August 26, by journalist Ana Flor's blog on G1.

According to Aziz, he will submit his report on Thursday, August 27, so that the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) can vote on the text the following week. The senator told the blog there is an agreement with committee chairman Otto Alencar for the proposal to be the first item on the agenda.

Per G1's reporting, the report's main points include a two-month transition to cut the work week from 44 to 42 hours, followed by a transition of up to one year to bring it down further to 40 hours. The two weekly rest days would no longer have to fall on Saturday and Sunday and could be staggered across the week. Workers in what the report calls atypical activities, such as those on offshore platforms who spend days at sea, could be subject to special schedules to be defined through supplementary legislation.

Why the rush

Aziz drafted the text so the measure would not need to return to the Chamber of Deputies, which approved its own version in May. G1 notes that the fast pace reflects election-year urgency: both President Lula's government and senators running in October's elections want to be seen by voters as responsible for shortening the work week. (In Brazil, the 6x1 schedule, six consecutive work days followed by a single day off, has become a major labor rights debate, especially in retail and services.)

The report also links the bill's progress to a recent thaw in relations between the president and Senate leader Davi Alcolumbre, a rapprochement that reportedly prompted the Senate to revive the previously stalled proposal.