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Brazil's Chamber of Deputies passed a reform reducing the workweek to five days with two days off. This marks a pre-election win for leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a country where a six-day workweek is currently the norm.
Backed by labor unions and opposed by trade organizations, the draft constitutional reform now heads to a vote in the Senate to reduce the weekly working hours from 44 to 40 hours, without pay cuts.
"The people will work five days and be able to rest for two," Lula said Tuesday at an event in the northern state of Amazonas.
If approved by Congress, it would be the first reduction in Brazil's workweek since the constitution was enacted in 1988.
Unions and left-wing advocates have pushed for the change to improve the quality of life and mental health for workers in Brazil, where unemployment is at record lows.
"The six-day schedule is inhuman; it robs people of hope and dignity," said lawmaker and reform sponsor Erika Hilton ahead of the proposal's advancement.
Figures cited in the proposal say it will change the workweek for more than 35 million Brazilians, in a country of 213 million people.
Business leaders oppose the change, warning it could harm their bottom lines and result in job losses.
Lula, a former union leader, is seeking his fourth non-consecutive term in office. His main rival is Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was jailed for an attempted coup.
Across Latin America, a 40-hour workweek has been enshrined in law in Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela and, more recently, Mexico.
According to the local news outlet Rio Times, the labor change will not be immediate. President Lula agreed to a phased transition, with the final text pointing to an initial reduction to 42 hours this year (60 days after enactment), followed by a drop to the final 40-hour limit exactly one year later.
A special committee examining the measure approved the report drafted by Deputy Leo Prates on Tuesday, sending the text to the lower-house floor.
The lower house has opened a week of concentrated effort to advance priority items, with the workweek change nearing the top of the list.
If the lower house approves it, the amendment would still need to clear the Senate, where a related proposal has been advancing.
The government aims to secure final approval from both houses before the mid-year legislative recess.
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