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Changes at Banco do Brasil Spark Sindical Reaction and Rekindle Historical Debate on Legal 6-Hour Workday, Foreseen in CLT.
Internal decision alters the routine of some employees and raises concerns about the impact on collective agreements and labor rights.
The increase in working hours for some employees of Banco do Brasil (BB) provoked an immediate reaction from union entities and rekindled the debate about the compliance with the 6-hour legal workday, foreseen in Article 224 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT).
The decision, announced internally on October 3, 2025, was criticized by the president of the Federation of Workers in Credit Companies of the Central-North (Fetec-CUT/CN), Rodrigo Britto, who classified the measure as “a threat to the historic achievements of the banking category.”
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In an article published on Friday, Britto stated that the restructuring proposed by the bank’s management increases the work hours of 25% of advisors I and II from six to eight hours a day, which, according to him, “opens a dangerous precedent” and “puts at risk the Collective Bargaining Agreement for bankers, to be renegotiated in 2026.”
Internal Restructuring and Sindical Criticisms
The change occurs amidst an internal reorganization process at Banco do Brasil, initiated in 2023, aimed at modernizing administrative structures and adjusting trusted positions.
The bank has yet to officially detail the impact of the measure on payroll and affected positions.
For Rodrigo Britto, the alteration represents a setback.
“What is presented now is a real stab in the back of the workers,” said the leader, emphasizing that the decision ignores “decades of struggle for the enforcement of the legal six-hour workday, without salary reductions.”
According to him, the achievement of this workday resulted from a long legal and sindical process that began in the 2000s.
“Between 2005 and 2013, we achieved historic victories through collective and individual actions, ensuring the legal classification of BB employees as bankers and the payment of the 7th and 8th hours,” he recalled.
The Legal Basis and Risk of Precedents
Article 224 of the CLT establishes that bankers have the right to 6 hours of daily work, except for those performing trusted positions, whose workday may reach 8 hours.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CCT) of the category reinforces this limit and defines the conditions for the payment of overtime.
Britto argues that Banco do Brasil, by extending the working hours of some advisors, “reopens a discussion that had already been settled” and that the decision “could be used by other public and private banks to weaken rights.”
He also warns about the future impact: “If this restructuring is not reviewed, the negotiation table in 2026 will start weakened.”
Political and Historical Context of Banco do Brasil
The sindicalist took the opportunity to recall the history of changes at BB since the 2000s.
According to him, the achievement of the 6-hour workday occurred after the strengthening of the sindical movement during the Lula governments, with the “rescue of the social role” of the bank.
Britto maintains that the scenario began to change in 2016, after the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff, when, in his words, “a wave of setbacks hit the country and Banco do Brasil itself.”
That year, the bank’s management, then led by Paulo Caffarelli, allegedly “abandoned the role of state development agent and adopted a market logic.”
During Jair Bolsonaro’s government, Britto recalls that BB “became the target of a dismantling and privatization strategy,” with the implementation of the Performa plan in 2020.
The leader states that the model, inspired by the policies of then-minister Paulo Guedes, “reduced salaries for trusted positions and created serious internal distortions.”
Expectations and Frustrations Under Tarciana Medeiros Management
When mentioning the current management of the bank, led by Tarciana Medeiros since 2023, Britto acknowledges that the executive’s appointment “generated hope among employees” for representing diversity and social commitment.
However, he claims that “the promises to correct the distortions of Performa did not materialize.”
“The Board of Directors ended up turning towards the market and sidelining the bank’s public role,” he wrote.
In another passage, Britto asserts that “institutional messages have started to prioritize private shareholders over the Union, the controlling shareholder.”
Sindical Resistance and Mobilization
The Fetec-CUT/CN and the Bankers’ Union of Brasília promise to react to the restructuring.
Britto highlighted that the entities have already sought mediation with the Public Labor Ministry on previous occasions and do not rule out new legal actions.
“The sindical movement will not accept setbacks in rights guaranteed by the CLT and by the collective agreement,” he assured.
The leader also relates the bank’s decision to the current labor scenario in the country, marked by legal disputes over outsourcing and pejotization.
“While the Federal Supreme Court and the TST review summaries and consolidate less protective understandings, any step back in a public company strengthens precarious practices across the financial sector,” he argued.
The Role of Banco do Brasil and the Future of Collective Bargaining
In Britto’s assessment, Banco do Brasil plays a strategic role in the financial system and should “serve as a model for respect for labor laws and the social function of public companies.”
He claims that the extension of working hours “weakens the historic bond of trust between the bank and its employees” and demands that the management “rethink the measure or assume the consequences before the category and society.”
In response to the repercussions, Banco do Brasil did not release an official statement detailing the criteria for the restructuring.
Internally, the institution has defended that the changes are part of a modernization and valorization of positions, without violating the legal classification foreseen in the CLT.
The impasse between management and the unions is expected to dominate the upcoming negotiation rounds and tends to influence the Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2026.
The main question now is whether Banco do Brasil will readjust the decision in light of the entities’ reaction or maintain the new working hours model.
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