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Proposal approved in the Chamber establishes national working hour limit for military police and firefighters, creates rules for overtime compensation, and imposes restrictions on extraordinary call-ups, changing the current scenario of schedules that vary widely between states and can exceed 200 hours per month.
The Chamber of Deputies approved Bill No. 5,967/2023, establishing a national rule for the working hours of military police and firefighters, by setting the standard limit at 144 hours per month, a measure that still depends on Senate review.
Sent to senators this Monday (04), the proposal amends Decree-Law No. 667, of 1969, which organizes state military corporations, consolidating a federal guideline for working hours that currently vary widely among states.
Authored by Deputy Sergeant Portugal (Pode-RJ), the text was approved in the form of a substitute bill reported by Colonel Meira (PL-PE), who introduced relevant adjustments to the final wording to accommodate different shift models already in use.
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In this format, the regular working hours were set at 144 hours per month, however, ordinary shifts of 24 hours per duty may reach up to 192 hours per month, maintaining some operational flexibility for state corporations.
Military Police and Firefighters’ Working Hours May Change with New National Rule
Currently, there is no single national limit for the working hours of these professionals, which allows states and the Federal District to adopt their own criteria, resulting in significant differences in the organization of service shifts.
According to the justification presented by the parliamentarians, police officers and firefighters can work shifts ranging between 120 and 240 hours per month, depending on the adopted model, which highlights the lack of standardization in the country.
With the eventual sanction of the proposal, the federal limit will become a mandatory reference, restricting frequent call-ups beyond the common working hours and creating more uniform parameters for all units of the Federation.
Despite this, the change will not have immediate effect, as it still depends on approval in the Senate and subsequent presidential sanction, in addition to eventual regulation for adapting existing schedules.
In practice, therefore, the reduction in working hours will not be automatic, as its application will depend on how each state adjusts its operational routines to the new legal framework.
How the payment and compensation for overtime will work
According to the approved text, work exceeding 144 monthly hours must be registered as credit in a time bank, establishing a formal mechanism for compensating the excess period.
When this excess occurs on Sundays or holidays, the hours will be counted in double, which represents a significant change in how the additional effort of professionals is recognized.
Thus, the project seeks to replace informal practices with a standardized model, where excess time is accounted for in a structured manner within corporations.
Although the summary mentions extraordinary remuneration and double payment, the approved version indicates that compensation will primarily occur through a time bank, with proportional increases in specific situations.
Compulsory call-up will have stricter rules
Another central point of the proposal involves limiting compulsory call-ups for extra shifts, restricting this resource to situations considered exceptional and of greater institutional severity.
Among the foreseen scenarios are a state of siege, state of defense, state of war, public calamity, and federal intervention, hypotheses that would justify the temporary extension of working hours.
With this, the measure aims to prevent extraordinary call-ups from being used as a recurrent practice in the daily management of state military corporations.
During the processing, rapporteur Colonel Meira highlighted that the absence of a federal norm contributed to excessive working hours, often above the limits considered adequate for the physical and mental health of professionals.
“The gap in federal legislation has allowed the consolidation of schedules that, not infrequently, exceed reasonable limits of physical and mental endurance,” stated the parliamentarian when defending the proposal.
Political debate and impact for the states
Throughout the plenary vote, favorable deputies argued that the measure could contribute to improving working conditions and reducing practices considered abusive in the organization of shifts.
In this context, the routine of prolonged shifts was pointed out as one of the factors of greatest physical and psychological wear faced by members of the corporations.
Sergeant Fahur (PSD-PR) reported that, during his professional career, he did not receive compensation when he had to remain on duty beyond the scheduled working hours, a situation mentioned as recurrent by other parliamentarians.
Furthermore, proponents of the proposal associated the initiative with professional appreciation, highlighting the need to guarantee minimum working conditions for a category exposed to constant risks.
In contrast, Congressman Helder Salomão (PT-ES) raised doubts about the constitutionality of the measure, although he expressed support for the content, pointing out a possible conflict with the autonomy of the states.
According to him, the definition of rules for military police and firefighters can be interpreted as a state competence, which should be analyzed during its processing in the Senate.
Minas Gerais has already adopted its own working hour limit
At the state level, Minas Gerais already has specific legislation that establishes a working hour limit for military police and firefighters since 2022.
Through Complementary Law nº 168/2022, a ceiling of 160 monthly hours was set, creating its own parameter prior to the proposal under discussion in the National Congress.
State Deputy Sargento Rodrigues (PL) informed that he presented a proposal to reduce this limit to 144 monthly hours, aligning Minas Gerais legislation with the model approved in the Chamber of Deputies.
Even so, the approval of the federal project does not automatically alter the legislation in force in the states, which will remain valid until any change resulting from the new national law.
Bill still depends on the Senate to become law
Even after approval in the Chamber, Bill nº 5.967/2023 is not yet in force and needs to be analyzed by the Federal Senate before any practical effect.
If the senators approve the text without changes, the proposal will go directly to presidential sanction or veto, the final stage of the legislative process.
On the other hand, any changes made in the Senate will require a new vote in the Chamber of Deputies, prolonging the processing of the matter.
Meanwhile, the current rules adopted by each state and the Federal District remain valid, with no immediate change in the working hours of the corporations.
With the approval in the Chamber, the main advance was the creation of a federal parameter to limit working hours, register overtime, and regulate extraordinary call-ups within more restrictive criteria.
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