Brazil approves 40-hour workweek with no pay cut before runoff
Why it matters: The change is due to be phased in and could sway millions of workers less than two weeks before the Oct. 25 vote.
Brazil's Congress approved a constitutional amendment cutting the standard workweek to 40 hours from 44 and giving workers two days off a week without reducing pay, a major political win for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before the Oct. 25 runoff. The Senate backed the measure 75-1 after the lower house passed it in May. The proposal would end the "6x1" schedule for many workers and, depending on the estimate, affect more than 16 million to 30 million people. Flavio Bolsonaro, who had opposed delaying the vote until after the election, switched and voted yes. The change will be phased in, first to 42 hours after a two-month grace period and later to 40 hours, while business groups warn of higher costs and prices.