Senate President Davi Alcolumbre stalls PEC ending 6×1 work schedule

A constitutional amendment (PEC 221/2019) that would end Brazil’s 6×1 work‑scale and reduce the weekly workweek from 44 to 40 hours was approved by the Chamber of Deputies with a large majority (only 22 dissenting votes). In the Senate, President Davi Alcolumbre (União‑AP) has kept the proposal on his desk and has not dispatched it to the Comissão de Constituição e Justiça (CCJ). The CCJ, chaired by Senator Otto Alencar (PSD‑BA), has not scheduled meetings this week because the Senate is operating semi‑presentially with low quorum, a situation amplified by the São João holiday in the Northeast and the Brazil‑Scotland World Cup match.

Senator Paulo Paim (PT‑RS) publicly urged the Senate to vote, questioning why the matter remains delayed after years of debate. Opposition senators have filed an alternative amendment that would preserve the 6×1 schedule and allow hourly contracts; Alcolumbre sent this alternative to the CCJ on the same day it was presented. Alencar says the original PEC will be prioritized because its tramitation began earlier.

The stalemate is part of a wider legislative slowdown linked to the strained relationship between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senate President Alcolumbre. Sources report that the dispute has frozen other priority projects, such as the work‑hour reduction PEC and a bill on critical minerals, raising concerns among business and labor groups about the impact on Brazil’s economic agenda.