Opposition evaluates "plan B" to the alternative PEC regarding the end of the 6×1 in the Senate

Amidst the uncertainty regarding the end of the 6x1 work schedule in the Senate, opposition parliamentarians are evaluating strategies to negotiate adjustments to the text. The PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) approved by the Chamber of Deputies has not yet received a referral from the president of the Upper House, senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP).

The group has not yet defined a clear strategy and is awaiting a signal from the President of the Senate to choose the path to block or negotiate changes to the text.

The first bet made by the opposition was the so-called alternative PEC. The text creates an alternative regime with remuneration per hour worked and was presented by the right to counteract the reduction in working hours.

The objective was to add the alternative proposal to the PEC at the end of the 6×1. For government supporters, this maneuver would "kill" the original text. The president of the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission), senator Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), has already signaled that the alternative PEC should not have priority.

In this context, the opposition is considering possible strategies as "plan B". The main one is the presentation of amendments to the text that has already been approved in the Chamber regarding the end of the 6×1 scale.

The group aims to press for "compensation" for companies. Representatives of economic sectors ask for financial compensation to cushion the possible impacts of a reduction in working hours. This topic had already been raised in the debates in the Chamber and should now be taken up again by the senators.

Another possibility is to use business lobbying in the Senate to reinforce the thesis that it is necessary to extend the transition period as much as possible to dilute the impacts on the productive sectors.

The text approved by the Chamber proposes a 14-month transition to reduce the current working day from 44 hours to 40 hours per week in two stages with a reduction of two hours each, without a reduction in wages. The first will be done 60 days after the text is promulgated. The second will be done 12 months later.

The deadline was considered "very short" by businesspeople who went to the Senate to speak out against the PEC. This week, representatives of confederations had a meeting with Alcolumbre to try to convince the congressman to delay the vote on the PEC.

CNN found that another path evaluated by the opposition is the defense of an amendment to end the transitional rule on reducing working hours. The idea would be to "embarrass" the government into having to defend the transition agreed in the Chamber.

On another front, senator Carlos Viana (PSD-MG), also said that he should suggest an amendment to create a 4×3 schedule - four days of work and three days of rest - for employees in the areas of security and health.

The leader of the PL in the Chamber, Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), tried to use a similar maneuver during the vote on the PEC in the plenary and shift the responsibility to the government. "We are not hypocrites and opportunists like this government. We now want 4 by 3", he stated in the plenary during the vote on the matter in the House.

The deputy's idea was to propose the 4×3 model for all workers in the country. This strategy, however, was evaluated by senators from the opposition as a "miss" and a "shot in the foot". In the Senate, congressmen aim to delay the vote and invest in creating greater room for negotiation in favor of economic sectors.

Alcolumbre avoids commitment to 6x1 and government fears "bomb agenda" in the Senate | BEHIND THE SCENES CNN

Source: CNN