Brazil Senate Approves 40-Hour Workweek in Win for Lula Before Runoff

BRASILIA. Brazil's Senate approved a constitutional amendment on Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026, that cuts the maximum workweek from 44 hours to 40, without a cut in pay. The vote was 75 to 1 in both of the two required rounds, the Associated Press reported. The only senator against was Hamilton Mourao, a former vice president.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to sign the measure next week, the AP said. The amendment ends the six-day schedule known in Brazil as 6x1, six days of work followed by one day of rest, and gives workers two paid days off a week.

What changes for workers

The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, passed the amendment in May 2026. The new standard will be brought in over a period of 14 months, and the government has estimated that more than 37 million formal-sector workers will benefit, Reuters reported.

The change reaches furthest in shops, restaurants and hotels, where six-day weeks are common. Reports put the number of Brazilians now working the 6x1 schedule at about 16 million. Business groups had raised concerns about the cost of shorter hours for employers, and the Senate vote had stayed uncertain for months amid political divisions.

Reuters called the reform the biggest overhaul of Brazilian labour rights in decades. It grew out of a social media movement called Life Beyond Work, which reporting says began with a pharmacy assistant and built wide public support before Lula and his party took it up.

One worker, Luciana de Almeida, 36, told BBC Brasil that the change would make a lot of difference to her life. She described herself as very tired and said she needs time with her daughters.

Ten days before the runoff

The timing is political as well as social. Brazil votes in a presidential runoff on Oct 25, 2026, and Lula is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term. His opponent is Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who led Lula in the first round of voting earlier this month.

Bolsonaro and his Liberal Party opposed the shorter week for months, arguing that the move was built to lift Lula's re-election chances. On Tuesday, Oct 13, Bolsonaro reversed course and said he would vote for it, and he voted yes in the Senate. Lula called his opponent's switch electoral opportunism, according to reports summarising both camps.

Lula welcomed the vote in a post on X, calling the amendment a victory for workers and saying it means more time to live, rest, be with family, watch children grow up and take care of yourself. The words match what his government argued through the long Senate fight: that a five-day week is a basic gain for working people, not a campaign gift.

The first shorter schedules will not arrive before the runoff. Voters will judge the promise on Oct 25, and employers will get their 14 months to adjust after that.