Government Suffers Defeat in Labor Reform Vote at Committee

06/21/2017 - 08h47

The government suffered a defeat in the labor reform in the Senate on Tuesday (20), with the rejection of the report by Ricardo Ferraço (PSDB-ES), by 10 votes to 9 in the Committee on Social Affairs. The rejection is a setback to the government, which counts with the approval of the reform.

Despite this, the outcome of the vote does not interrupt the course of the proposal. This is because the positioning is an opinion; the final decision rests with the plenary of the Senate.

The reform, supported by business entities, brings changes such as the prevalence, in some cases, of agreements between employers and employees on the law, the end of compulsory union contribution, obstacles to the filing of labor lawsuits, limits to decisions of the Superior Labor Court, the possibility of splitting holiday in three periods and the flexibilization of employment contracts.

The defeat of the government had a negative response in the financial market. The Brazilian stock exchange fell 2%.

The matter will now be forwarded to the Constitution and Justice Committee, where it should be read by the government leader, Senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR).

Three reports (by Ferraço, Paulo Paim and Jucá) will be taken to the plenary for consideration by the 81 senators. In the plenary, only one of them must be voted on and, if approved, the others are rejected.

Translated by MARINA DELLA VALLE

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	Renato Costa/FramePhoto/Folhapress
	The government suffered a defeat in the labor reform, with the rejection of the report by 10 votes to 9 in the Committee on Social Affairs