With Brazil’s senate voting 75 to 1 in favor, one wonders what took them so long?

The nation was one of the richest in the world that still had a customary 6-day workweek, with fulltime employment considered 44 hours, rather than the 40 we know of in the US.

That changed with the introduction of a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution 221 (PEC. 221) which puts South America’s largest economy at parity for working hours with the US and so many others.

This includes 40 hours a week, and 2 days of paid time off for full-time employees, with the days off being left up to negotiation between unions and their employers, though it’s assumed most will aim to secure either Saturday or Sunday, depending on whichever one they had previously worked.

“At first glance, it may seem like a subtle change. But for those who wake up early, take a crowded bus, work their shift and return home at the end of the day, this change is enormous,” Senate President Davi Alcolumbre told Brazil’s Courthouse News. “One more day of rest means more time for family.”

The reduction of 44 hours to 42 and the additional day off kick in 60 days from the passage of the PEC. It will fall to 40 a year later, ensuring employers have time to reorganize schedules or hire additional workers in advance.

The lower house of Brazil’s legislature passed an identical measure in May, and as per the separation of powers in the country, such cases no longer require an executive signature, meaning the law will come straight into effect.

Not that it would have mattered much if it did, as the PEC was supported by both the incumbent president and his opponent, who attended the senate hearing online to vote in favor, just 11 days before second-round elections.

PEC 221 was originally introduced in 2019 and would have shrunk the workweek to 34 hours, but this was later adjected up to 40, but still down from 44. It marks the first changes to labor hours by the legislature since 1988, Courthouse reported, when full-time work was reduced from 48 hours to 44.

East Asian economies famous for their productive, yet intense work cultures maintain 6 working days, including Singapore and Japan, though in either case it varied by sector.

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