Brazil Senate Sets 14 October Vote on 6-Day Work Week
BRAZIL · CONGRESS
Runoff · Sunday, 25 October
Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula: what happens next
First-round results, how the runoff works, the key dates and who backs whom, in one guide.
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, caps the normal work week at 44 hours; its common 6×1 roster means 6 workdays, 1 day off.
- —What happened On Friday 9 October, Senate President Davi Alcolumbre scheduled the first-round vote on ending the 6-day work week for Wednesday 14 October.
- —The proposal The constitutional amendment cuts the weekly cap from 44 to 40 hours and guarantees 2 paid days off a week, with no pay cut.
- —The vote needed It needs 49 of 81 senators in each of two rounds; deputies passed it 472 to 22 and 461 to 19 on 27 May.
- —The runoff link The vote falls 11 days before the 25 October runoff between Lula, whose government backs it, and Flávio Bolsonaro.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket gives Flávio Bolsonaro an 88.6% chance of winning the 25 October runoff (10 October, 2:08 a.m. ET). Polymarket puts Flávio Bolsonaro’s chance of winning at 89% and Kalshi at 88% (Lula: 12% and 12%), as of 10 October, 2:20 am ET; prices are bets, not polls.
Brazil’s Senate will vote on Wednesday 14 October on ending the 6-day work week, Senate President Davi Alcolumbre announced on Friday evening. The constitutional amendment would cut the normal work week from 44 to 40 hours, with no pay cut.
For US companies with staff in Brazil, that means paying the same wages for fewer hours. The vote lands 11 days before the 25 October runoff, where President Lula, whose government backs the change, faces conservative senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
What Alcolumbre Announced on Friday
Alcolumbre, a senator for Amapá state from the centre-right União Brasil party, presides over the Senate and Congress. He released a short note on Friday evening, 9 October, published by Agência Senado, the Senate’s official news service.
“I have scheduled for Wednesday the first-round vote on PEC 221 of 2019, which deals with the end of the 6×1 schedule,” he wrote. A PEC is a proposed amendment to Brazil’s Constitution.
He said he was keeping his promise “with responsibility, dialogue and respect for the rules of procedure”. “It will be up to each senator to decide with freedom, conscience and conviction,” he added.
Senate rules require five floor debates before a first-round vote on the 6-day work week. The fourth is set for Tuesday 13 October at 2 p.m. Brasília time (1 p.m. ET), the fifth for Wednesday before the vote.
The Senate opened the debate on 6 October and held the second and third sessions on 7 and 8 October, Agência Senado said.
The rapporteur, Senator Omar Aziz of the centrist Social Democratic Party (PSD) from Amazonas, has rejected all 36 amendments filed so far. Senators can still propose changes on the floor.
After a first-round win, three more debate sessions must pass before the second and final round. On that timetable, the vote could still be completed in October, Agência Senado said.
Teresa Leitão of Lula’s left-wing Workers’ Party (PT), the government’s leader in the Senate, is collecting signatures for a faster “special calendar”. Alcolumbre said on 7 October he would put such a request to a vote if one is filed.
What the Amendment Would Change
Article 7 of Brazil’s Constitution now caps normal work at 8 hours a day and 44 hours a week. The amendment would end the 6-day work week, with a 40-hour cap, 2 paid rest days and no salary cut.
The cut would be phased in over about 14 months, the newspaper Tribuna de Jundiaí reported. The Chamber of Deputies, Congress’s lower house, approved the text on 27 May.
Its voting records show 472 votes to 22 in the first round and 461 to 19 in the second, both on the same evening. The text then went to the Senate.
Constitutional amendments do not go to the president for signature or veto. Under Article 60, the leadership boards of both houses promulgate them once each house approves the text by three fifths in two rounds.
Because hours fall while pay stays the same, each hour worked would cost employers more, the financial news site Monitor do Mercado noted. The effect is largest in sectors that run 6-day rosters.
Why the Vote Lands in the Runoff Campaign
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the left-wing PT, is seeking a fourth term on 25 October. Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator for Rio de Janeiro and the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, runs for the conservative Liberal Party (PL).
Senators from the PL and two centre-right parties, Progressistas (PP) and Republicanos, tried to stall the debate on the 6-day work week. Their worry is that approval would help Lula in the runoff, the regional daily Diário do Grande ABC reported on 8 October.
“It does not affect Flávio, but it helps Lula,” Senator Damares Alves of Republicanos, from the Federal District, was quoted as saying.
Lula again backed the amendment at a campaign rally in Ceilândia, near Brasília, on Friday, the state news agency Agência Brasil reported. “This is the march that wants to cut working hours, so people work five days and rest two,” he said.
Flávio favours a flexible model in which pay follows the hours actually worked. Lula’s running mate, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, said on Friday it would let firms call staff in only when needed, Poder360 reported.
As a sitting senator, Flávio has a vote of his own on the amendment. He had not said in September how he would cast it, Tribuna de Jundiaí reported.
In early September, Alcolumbre and the government put off a planned vote, Monitor do Mercado reported. Government senators could not promise enough support on the floor, though they counted 53 or 54 likely yes votes against the 49 required.
What It Means for You
For US companies with Brazilian payrolls, a 40-hour cap with no pay cut means higher labour costs per hour. Retailers, restaurants and other service firms built around a 6-day work week may need to rework shifts or hire.
US federal law sets no limit on weekly hours for workers aged 16 and older, the US Labor Department says. The Fair Labor Standards Act only requires covered workers to get time and a half after 40 hours a week.
Investors in Brazilian retail and service companies should watch Wednesday’s count. Even a first-round win leaves a second vote, and the phase-in would take more than a year.
For visitors and foreign residents, nothing changes yet. Shop and restaurant schedules stay as they are until any amendment is promulgated and phased in.
What Prediction Markets Say
No prediction market trades on the Senate vote itself. On Polymarket, bettors give Flávio Bolsonaro an 88.6% chance of winning the 25 October runoff and Lula 11.5% (10 October, 2:08 a.m. ET).
Flávio’s price rose 2.9 points in 24 hours. About US$180 million has been traded on that market in total.
Prediction markets · who wins the runoff
Implied chance of winning Brazil’s presidency on 25 October, from traders’ prices.
Polymarket
Flávio Bolsonaro 88.6% · Lula 11.5% (US$180 million traded)
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC)
Flávio Bolsonaro 88% · Lula 12%
As of 10 October, 2:20 am ET (07:20 Lisbon), updated every 20 minutes. Prices are bets, not polls, and can move fast.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether supporters have the 49 votes to end the 6-day work week. Opponents could also stay away to deny a quorum, as government senators say they did in early September.
Floor amendments could change the text and the timetable. No date has been set for the second-round vote.
Without a faster special calendar, it is unclear whether the second round can be held before the 25 October runoff.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Brazil’s 6×1 work schedule?
It is a roster of six workdays followed by one day off. The amendment would end the 6-day work week, with a 40-hour cap and two paid days off.
When does Brazil’s Senate vote on ending the 6-day work week?
The first-round vote is set for Wednesday 14 October. A second round must follow after three more debate sessions.
How many votes does the amendment need?
At least 49 of the 81 senators, or three fifths, in each of two rounds. The Chamber of Deputies passed it on 27 May.
Would the 40-hour week start right away?
No. After Congress promulgates the amendment, the move away from the 6-day work week would be phased in over about 14 months.
Does the vote affect US companies?
Yes, if they employ staff in Brazil. Paying the same wages for fewer hours raises the hourly cost of labour.
Sources: Agência Senado, 9 October 2026; Federal Senate, plenary agenda for 13 October 2026, 9 October 2026; Agência Senado, 7 October 2026; Chamber of Deputies, open data on PEC 221/2019 votes, 27 May 2026; Presidency of Brazil, Federal Constitution (Articles 7 and 60), 5 October 1988; US Department of Labor, Overtime Pay, accessed 10 October 2026; Diário do Grande ABC, 8 October 2026; Tribuna de Jundiaí, 3 September 2026; Monitor do Mercado, 3 September 2026; Agência Brasil, 9 October 2026; Poder360, 9 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief