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Labor changes advance in different directions in Brazil and Argentina, with effects on working hours, rest, time off in lieu, and negotiation between companies, workers, unions, and governments.
Argentina has resumed applying articles of the Javier Milei government’s labor reform after the National Chamber of Labor Appeals overturned, on April 23, 2026, the injunction that had suspended part of the Labor Modernization Law.
The norm was sanctioned on February 27 and published in the Official Gazette on March 6.
Among the changes are rules on hour compensation, time off in lieu, weekly rest, indemnities, strikes, and labor negotiation.
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In Brazil, the debate is heading in another direction.
The Constitution and Justice and Citizenship Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved, on April 22, 2026, the admissibility of two proposed constitutional amendments that reduce the weekly working hours and, in practice, pave the way for the end of the 6×1 shift, a model in which the worker works six days and rests one.
The texts still need to pass through a special committee and the Chamber’s plenary.
Brazil and Argentina discuss working hours through different paths
The comparison between the two countries gained prominence because Brazil and Argentina are dealing with changes in working time rules during the same period.
In the Brazilian Congress, the proposals under analysis seek to reduce weekly working hours and extend rest periods.
In Argentina, the law approved by Congress changes the organization of working hours and allows for compensation through time off in lieu and other instruments provided in the legal text.
One of the Brazilian proposals is PEC 221/2019, by Congressman Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG).
The text provides for the gradual reduction of weekly working hours from the current 44 hours to 36 hours, over a period of ten years.
The other is PEC 8/2025, by Congresswoman Erika Hilton (Psol-SP), which proposes a four-day work week, also with a 36-hour limit.
The CCJ’s decision does not change the Constitution nor immediately alter the routine of workers.
At this stage, the deputies only analyzed whether the proposals could proceed from a constitutional point of view.
The discussion on the content of the PECs will be up to a special committee, before any eventual vote in the Chamber’s plenary, where a constitutional amendment requires three-fifths of the deputies’ votes, in two rounds.
How the Argentine rule on working hours was established
In Argentina, Law 27.802, officially called the Labor Modernization Law, modified sections of labor legislation and norms related to the functioning of the Labor Justice system.
The text approved by Congress deals with employment contracts, employee registration, calculation of indemnities, vacations, working hours, weekly rest, strikes, and rules for legal actions.
Regarding working hours, the law allows employer and worker to agree, in writing, on a voluntary regime for compensating extraordinary hours.
The text mentions the possibility of using overtime, time off in lieu, and compensatory days off, provided that the system records hours worked and hours available for rest.
The norm also authorizes individual contracts, collective conventions, or other collective agreements to establish methods for calculating maximum working hours by average.
For this, the minimum rest of 12 hours between one shift and another and the weekly rest of 35 hours must be respected.
Time off in lieu may compensate for a longer shift on a given day with a shorter shift on another, without exceeding the applicable weekly limit.
This section is what led the reform to be associated with the possibility of shifts of up to 12 hours per day.
The legal text, however, does not establish that all workers automatically start working 12 hours daily.
The change creates mechanisms for compensation and calculation by average, within the limits defined by legislation, by specific regimes, or by collective bargaining.
Strikes, indemnities, and time banks included in Milei’s reform
The Argentine reform also changed rules on strikes.
In activities classified as essential, the minimum service during stoppages must be at least 75% of normal operations.
In activities considered of transcendental importance, the minimum percentage foreseen is 50%.
The list includes sectors such as health, energy, telecommunications, transport, education, financial services, food, and activities related to foreign trade.
Another part of the law allows judicial condemnatory sentences against human or legal persons to be paid in installments.
For large companies, the limit is up to six consecutive monthly installments.
In the case of micro, small, and medium-sized companies, payment can be extended to 12 consecutive monthly installments, according to the text published in the Argentine Official Gazette.
The approval of the reform occurred after a general strike called by the General Confederation of Labor, the CGT, Argentina’s main trade union confederation.
The entity challenged the law in court, alleging violation of constitutional labor principles.
The Milei government, in turn, maintains that the reform seeks to modernize labor relations, expand formalization, and stimulate hiring.
Argentine labor reform remains in judicial dispute
On March 30, 2026, the Argentine Labor Court suspended part of the reform at the request of the CGT.
The precautionary decision affected 82 articles of Law 27.802, according to reports from the Argentine press.
Among the affected topics were working hours, time banks, indemnities, strikes, and procedural rules.
The situation changed on April 23, when the National Chamber of Labor Appeals accepted an appeal from the Argentine State and rendered the precautionary suspension ineffective while the process continues to be analyzed.
As a result, the questioned articles became effective again, but the discussion on the constitutionality of the reform has not yet concluded.
The CGT indicated that it would continue to appeal against the law and maintained a mobilization scheduled for April 30, the eve of International Labor Day.
According to the trade union confederation, the act in Buenos Aires addresses the Milei government’s labor policy, the decline in purchasing power, and family indebtedness.
End of the 6×1 schedule still depends on Congressional vote
In Brazil, the end of the 6×1 schedule remains in the legislative process.
The approval of admissibility in the CCJ was an initial step, but it does not yet define the model that may be adopted in the country.
The next step will be the creation of a special commission to analyze the merits of the proposals.
After that, if the text advances, the vote will proceed to the Chamber’s plenary session.
In addition to the PECs, the federal government sent Bill 1838/2026 to Congress, which reduces the weekly CLT working hours to 40 hours and provides for two paid weekly rests of 24 consecutive hours.
The proposal also establishes that the change cannot result in a nominal or proportional reduction of salaries or an alteration of current minimum wages.
The Executive’s bill was sent on April 14, 2026, and is being processed in the Chamber of Deputies.
As it is a bill, the proposal has a different procedure than a PEC.
To become law, it needs to be approved by the Chamber and the Senate.
However, a constitutional change requires a higher quorum and two rounds of voting in each House of Congress.
The Brazilian Constitution currently establishes that the normal working day should not exceed eight hours daily and 44 hours weekly.
The proposals discussed in Congress aim to reduce this limit or reorganize the work week, but none of them produce immediate effect until approved by the Legislature.
The contrast between the two countries lies in the type of change being debated.
In Brazil, the initiatives underway reduce the weekly working hours and extend rest days.
In Argentina, the already approved reform makes instruments for hour compensation and work schedule reorganization more flexible, with a judicial dispute still ongoing.
The definition of the next steps will depend, in each country, on votes in Congress, judicial decisions, and negotiations between the government, parliamentarians, companies, and unions.
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