Analysis: The crossroads of the debate about the end of the 6×1 scale

The PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) that foresees the end of the 6×1 scale faces an increasingly restricted calendar in the Senate and accumulates warnings from experts about its economic and legal impacts.

With the parliamentary recess scheduled to begin on July 18th, followed by the period of party conventions starting on the 20th, the window for voting on the proposal narrows considerably.

According to information obtained by CNN, the president of the House, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), has already signaled to senators that he should not discuss the PEC before the recess. Any possible processing during the electoral period is also considered remote, which puts voting on hold.

Government pressure and business resistance
The government is pushing for speed in approving the proposal, with an eye on possible electoral gains associated with a popular agenda. In an interview with CNN, Teresa Leitão (PT-PE), government leader in the Senate, stated that the electoral calendar should not be an absolute impediment.

"We will be in a different process, we will have weeks of concentrated effort, as every election has, we will have weeks of hybrid, blended work, but this will not hinder the process of voting on projects that are in the interest of the population and the people", he declared.

On the other side, business entities have defended that the agenda be analyzed only after the electoral period.

Senators received a letter signed by Otavio Calvet, labor judge and professor, and José Pastore, president of the Employment and Labor Relations Council of the São Paulo Federation of Commerce, warning that the constitutional provision for a second day of paid weekly rest should increase the cost per hour worked for employers by around 10%.

The legal architecture of the PEC and its effects
Otávio Calvet explained that the PEC goes beyond a simple reduction in working hours. "The PEC has two elements. In addition to reducing working time from 44 to 40 hours, the PEC is creating a new right for workers, that is, creating another paid weekly rest period", he stated.

According to the Labor judge, contrary to what occurred in the 1988 Constitution - when the working day was reduced from 48 to 44 hours without the addition of paid rest -, the current proposal imposes significant additional costs.

Calvet detailed that, adding the two impacts - the reduction in working hours from 44 to 40 hours and the addition of the new paid weekly rest -, the average additional cost for employers would reach 18.2%.

"These mechanisms that will generate this additional cost of almost 20% represent, firstly, the cost of around 9.1% due to the loss of working time, from 44 to 40 hours. And the second cost, precisely due to the addition of this new paid weekly rest, which is also 9.1%", he explained.

The expert also highlighted that the PEC contains an article that prohibits any salary reduction, whether nominal or proportional, which prevents employers from rebalancing costs.

Calvet pointed out three errors in the structure of the proposal: changing the scale from 6×1 to 5×2; the provision that the second day of rest will be paid; and the express prohibition of proportional salary reduction.

"There are three points in the PEC that prevent me, after the approval of this PEC, from maintaining the same salary to pay my employee 40 hours of work per week and two rest periods", he concluded.

Inflationary risk and impact on the job market
CNN anchor Thais Herédia highlighted that the CNI (National Confederation of Industry) revealed that most companies intend to pass on additional costs to final prices. "If the PEC is approved as it is, it will cause price increases," he said.

Herédia also drew attention to the current scenario of labor shortages in several sectors, especially low-skilled ones, such as construction and retail, where turnover already exceeds 90%. "What is, in some way, replenishing this lack of labor is salary. So, the economy grows through wages and not productivity", he noted.

CNN's Director of Journalism in Brasília, Daniel Rittner, added a report obtained from an executive in the aviation sector, who described the specific difficulties of constitutionalizing uniform rules for all sectors.

In the case of airlines, long-distance routes, such as those connecting Brazil to the Middle East, involve complex stopovers that do not easily fit into the new rules. "This for any airline's scale could be killer," warned Rittner.

From a political point of view, Daniel Rittner also noted that the PEC has already become an electoral flag, regardless of whether it is voted on before the elections.

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Source: CNN