End of 6×1: Sectors criticize the PEC's rigidity and warn of widespread impacts

The PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) for the end of the 6×1 scale provides, in addition to the mandatory two days of rest, a reduction from 44 to 40 hours of work per week.

The project generates a strong reaction from the production sector, which alerts to the particularities of each segment, predicting a strong impact on chains and costs. Representatives from different sectors were interviewed by CNN Brasil.

Agribusiness
Agricultural work has specific demands that are not considered in the proposal to change the working day, according to Clorialdo Roberto Levrero, president of the deliberative council of Abisolo (Brazilian Association of Technology Industries for Plant Production).

"These particularities are not just in the countryside, they are also based on agriculture", he states.

Clorialdo mentions the planting and harvesting windows as an example of a particularity with different demand for labor.

"Soybeans, for example, have 15 to 20 days for you to put in the field. So, the farmer often cannot respect the schedules, he has to do it during that period, otherwise it has a direct impact on final productivity", he explains.

Abisolo: End of 6x1 cannot turn a blind eye to sector particularities | MONEY NEWS

The needs of the sector are still highlighted in the speech by Marcelo Bertoni, vice-president of the CNA (Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil).

"Our sector has many different work specifications, especially in the dairy. You work all week, there are planting and harvest periods, and you spend four months without Saturday, Sunday, or holiday", he says.

He does not see the rigidity of a fixed scale as appropriate for agribusiness and argues that the worker can negotiate working conditions with the employer.

When asked about the unions' argument that, in these negotiations, the employer always has an advantage, Bertoni disagrees.

"I need the worker and the worker needs the employer. The forces are equal in this sense. There is no reason to say that one has more strength than the other, as the two depend directly on each other", he argues.

End of the 6x1 scale will generate inflation in food, says vice-president of the CNA | CNN 360º

Patrícia Arantes, executive director of SRB (Brazilian Rural Society), highlights the importance of the agricultural sector for Brazil and the effects of the possible new scale on it.

"The agricultural sector employs practically 30 million people, so this corresponds to one in every four workers in Brazil", he stated. "Every change we make in this sector really has a huge impact."

Arantes also cites the study presented by the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture at the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) of the Chamber of Deputies

According to the data, the ethanol sector would suffer an impact of R$4 to R$5 billion, the pork and poultry protein sector of R$9 billion, and cooperatives of R$2.5 billion.

End of 6x1 would have an impact of billions, says dir. of the Brazilian Rural Society | MARKET OPENING

Supermarkets
The supermarket sector is considering the end of the 6×1 scale. João Galassi, president of Abras (Brazilian Supermarkets Association), sees the change as a challenge for small companies, especially with the reduction in working hours.

"They can't make a 5 by 2 scale, much less reducing it to 40 hours", he said.

Galassi says that Abras carried out research and practical tests on the 12×36 and 5×2 models, and states that the latter of them is well received by the majority of workers and can be absorbed by the sector without rising prices, as long as the 44-hour work week is maintained.

"If we maintain the 44 hours, the employee will have to work 4 hours spread over 5 days", he reports. If companies assume these hours without compensation, the additional cost must be passed on to the consumer, according to the president of Abras.

President of Abras talks about the impacts of the end of 6x1 on the supermarket sector | MONEY NEWS

Erlon Ortega, president of Apas (Associação Paulista de Supermercados), has already estimated the effect on prices for the final consumer. "We calculate the impact at around 9% to 10%", he says.

He highlights that the effects would not be limited to supermarkets, but would also affect condominiums, hospitals, bars, restaurants and agriculture. "The impact is mathematical and will arrive on the shelf", he declares.

Just like in agriculture, Ortega reports difficulties with labor and points out that the sector already records a deficit of 35 thousand vacancies in the state of São Paulo alone.

"A project that takes away 10% of our workforce forces us to hire around 10% more", he ponders.

Impact of the end of 6x1 will reach market shelves, says president of Apas | NOW CNN

Industry
The labor manager at Fiemg (Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais), Fernanda Ribas, sees transfers to the consumer given the impact on costs without a proportional reduction in wages.

"The increase in the cost of hours worked will inevitably be passed on to the price of products. In the end, we, the whole of society, will pay this bill", he states.

Ribas adds that the proposal, if approved, could increase inflation and even reduce the purchasing power of salaries.

She also fears that business owners will not be able to absorb the growth in expenses and will lay off formally hired employees. "There will inevitably be an increase in informality", highlights Ribas.

The CNI (National Confederation of Industry) calculates that the end of the 6×1 scale and the reduction in working hours could increase the costs of formal employees in the economy by between R$178.2 billion and R$267.2 billion per year, which is equivalent to an increase of up to 7% in the payroll.

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Paulo Skaf, president of Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), says that the PEC approved by the Chamber of Deputies represents an "absolute delay".

"The modern world is the world of dialogue, of negotiation. People know what is best for them", he declared. For him, fixing the work scale in the Constitution "is absurd" and has no parallel in any other part of the world.

Skaf assesses that the initial approval in the Chamber was motivated by electoral and political issues.

"The Chamber moved quickly due to a clearly political interest, making many parliamentarians uncomfortable. Due to the political appeal, they did not vote within their conscience, they were inhibited and pressured", he states.

The proposal to end the 6x1 scale is an absolute delay, says Paulo Skaf | LIVE CNN

The president of Fiepa (Federation of Industries of the State of Pará), Alex Carvalho, reinforces the idea that the debate for the end of the 6×1 scale has been carried out superficially due to electoral appeal.

"There is an unnecessary us against them", he criticizes.

Carvalho argues that there should be more caution and in-depth debate, which does not mean opposition to the worker, but responsibility in the face of the possible effects of the hastily approved change.

"What is expected is that we will have in the Senate the ability to find mechanisms that can cool down this discussion, bring lucidity and above all remove the electoral appeal", he adds.

He argues with studies by the Industry Observatory of the State of Pará, which calculates a cost increase of 13% in civil construction and 11% in the manufacturing industry, if the PEC is approved in its current form.

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Source: CNN