Senate President Davi Alcolumbre has placed the proposed constitutional amendment ending Brazil’s 6x1 work schedule on the agenda for Wednesday, when senators are expected to hold the final discussion session and vote in the first round. The measure would lower the constitutional ceiling from 44 to 40 weekly hours and guarantee two paid weekly rest days, without a salary reduction.¹

One account of the move stresses the institutional path ahead. Alcolumbre said he was fulfilling his commitment to bring the proposal to a vote “with responsibility, dialogue and respect for the procedural rules,” adding that each senator would decide “with freedom, conscience and conviction.”¹ The amendment requires at least 49 votes in each of two rounds — three-fifths of the 81-member Senate. Although the required discussion sessions before the first vote are nearly complete, the chamber would normally need three more sessions before a second-round vote.

From the government-aligned perspective, the timetable is more than a procedural detail. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration is seeking to shorten the interval between rounds, using a mechanism known as a quebra de interstício, so that final Senate action does not extend beyond the electoral calendar.² Supporters have portrayed the change as a direct benefit to employees; Senator Cleitinho said, after Alcolumbre announced the schedule, that “the worker is the one who wins.”¹

The two accounts agree that Wednesday would be only the first major test, not the end of the amendment’s journey. They differ chiefly in emphasis: one centers the Senate’s independent deliberation and formal requirements, while the other highlights an effort to accelerate a worker-focused measure. The text also envisions a transition, initially reducing the limit to 42 hours before reaching 40, and would exclude some higher-paid, university-educated professionals.²