Victory for the People and Another One for PSOL: The End of the 6x1 Schedule Is in the Constitution, and Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP) Rises
Promulgated on October 16, the amendment guarantees two days of rest a week with no pay cut and lowers the workweek from 44 to 42 hours in December and to 40 hours at the end of 2027. According to Dieese, that is 26.8 million workers. Author of one of the amendments, Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP) was reelected as the most-voted woman in the history of the Chamber.
Adapted translation of the Portuguese original. Read the original.
CartoonSince October 16, the schedule of six days of work for one day off no longer fits in the Constitution. That Friday, Congress promulgated the amendment guaranteeing every worker with a formal contract two days of paid rest a week, with no pay cut. Lula was at the ceremony. “Nobody wants a company to go under, but nobody wants a worker to die from working so much,” he said.
The change comes in two stages. Sixty days after publication, in mid-December, the maximum workweek drops from 44 to 42 hours, already with a schedule of five days of work and two of rest. Twelve months later, at the end of 2027, it reaches 40 hours. According to Dieese, the labor research institute backed by the unions, based on IBGE survey data, 26.8 million people are affected: 22 million with formal contracts, more than half of the country's formal employees, and 4.8 million informal workers who work more than 40 hours.
How It Passed
The tally says almost everything. In the Chamber of Deputies, on May 27, the vote was 472 to 22 in the first round. In the Senate, on October 14, it was 75 to 1 in both rounds. The only vote against was from Sen. Hamilton Mourão (Republicanos-RS).
The final text merged two proposals. The older is PEC 221/2019, by Rep. Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG), which called for 36 weekly hours within ten years. The other is PEC 8/2025, by Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP), which asked for 36 hours in four workdays. The two were reviewed together, and Congress approved a middle ground: 40 hours in five days.
The Deputy Who Rose
Erika Hilton introduced the amendment in 2025. On October 4, 2026, ten days before the Senate vote, she received 1,596,383 votes for federal deputy in São Paulo. It is the largest vote ever for a woman in the history of the Chamber, above Joice Hasselmann's record in 2018, and the second largest in the country in 2026. In 2022, she had received 256,903 votes. She multiplied it by more than six.
“This victory is not mine, it's collective,” she said on the night of the count. At the promulgation of the amendment, she celebrated: “The struggle moves the world.”
What Is Left Out
The amendment has exceptions. Those with a college degree and a salary equal to or above 2.5 times the INSS ceiling (the cap on public pension benefits), currently R$21,188.87, have no mandatory reduction in hours. Outsourced workers in public administration get 12 months, instead of 60 days. And time-off compensation and reductions by collective agreement or bargaining remain valid.
Starting in December, the Saturday question stops being “are you working tomorrow?” for half of the country's formally employed workers.
Sources
- Senado aprova fim da escala 6x1
The Senate approved PEC 221/2019 by 75 votes to 1 in both rounds, with Omar Aziz as rapporteur; the text guarantees two days of paid rest a week and limits the workweek to 40 hours. The dissenting vote was Hamilton Mourão's. Erika Hilton is the author of another proposal with the same aim.
- PEC 6x1: Alcolumbre prevê votação em 2 turnos nesta quarta-feira
The Chamber approved the PEC on May 27, 2026, by 472 to 22 in the first round and 461 to 19 in the second; Erika Hilton's proposal was reviewed together with it.
- Congresso promulga PEC que dá fim à escala 6x1
Congress promulgated the amendment on October 16, with Lula at the ceremony; the limit becomes 42 hours 60 days after publication and 40 hours 12 months later, with no pay reduction.
- Fim da 6x1: saiba quando entra em vigor nova jornada de trabalho
According to Dieese, using the 2025 PNAD survey, 26.8 million workers will benefit: 22 million with formal contracts (54% of formal employees) and 4.8 million informal workers with more than 40 hours; 14-month transition.
- As diferenças entre as duas PECs contra a escala 6x1 que tramitam na Câmara
PEC 221/2019, by Reginaldo Lopes, called for 36 weekly hours in ten years; PEC 8/2025, by Erika Hilton, for 36 hours in four workdays, taking effect in 360 days.
- Erika Hilton é reeleita com quase 1,6 milhão de votos e se torna a mulher mais votada da história para a Câmara
Erika Hilton received 1,596,383 votes, the second largest vote in the country and the largest for a woman in the history of the Chamber, above Joice Hasselmann's 1,078,666 in 2018; in 2022 she had received 256,903.
