Brazil’s Lower House of Congress approved a bill that modernizes labor relations in the country.
Some of the major improvements the new bill introduces to Brazil’s current labor code include the prevalence of agreements between employers and employees over laws, regulations for intermittent and temporary work and more flexibility on how employees can spend their vacation days, which are part of the 16 issues for which the new law would allow bargaining agreements to override the law.
The text approved also provides for safeguards to protect workers. For example, arrangements such as working hours and compensatory time can now be more flexible, but other rights guaranteed by the Constitution, such as the right to the “13th salary” (a one-month-wage yearly bonus provided for in law) may not be reduced or changed.
The population is not happy with many of the project’s provisions. The main criticism is that the reform favors employers over employees.