Brazil’s move away from the 6x1 schedule—six days of work followed by one day off—could make collective bargaining more contentious next year. Employers may push back against above-inflation wage increases and seek changes to benefits, including company health plans, as they adjust to a shorter working week and higher costs.
Under the planned change, the schedule will become 5x2, with two paid rest days each week, from December 16. The standard workweek will also fall from 44 to 42 hours. Businesses may look for ways to offset the resulting costs, while unions will try to protect workers’ existing rights and benefits.
Health insurance is a particular concern. Corporate medical plans are already facing cost pressures, and projections from Marsh Health and Benefits Brasil put next year’s increases at between 9% and 11%.
Antonio Galvão Peres, a labor lawyer with a doctorate in labor law from the University of São Paulo, said higher expenses combined with the need to adapt working hours could lead companies to cut internal costs, including by reviewing benefits. Collective agreements have fixed terms, he noted, and under the 2017 labor reform, benefits do not automatically continue after an agreement expires if a replacement has not been negotiated. The Supreme Federal Court upheld that rule.
Sociologist Clemente Ganz Lúcio, who coordinates the Forum of Trade Union Confederations, said whether benefits are lost will depend on each sector and on unions’ negotiating strength. He expects some employers to cite the end of the 6x1 schedule when discussing health-plan costs, although he said the issue predates the change. The cost of medical coverage has already been raised in bargaining, he added.
Hélio Zylberstajn, a senior professor at the University of São Paulo and economist responsible for Fipe’s Salariômetro, also expects negotiations to become tougher, particularly in industries that must operate on weekends and holidays. His review of 37,000 negotiations from July 2024 to July 2025 found that 81% included working-hours clauses, with an average of five such clauses per agreement.
Zylberstajn said recent Salariômetro data showed a slowdown in agreements with wage increases above inflation in September and October. He suggested that companies and unions could negotiate productivity commitments in return for preserving benefits and raises, or limiting cuts.
The latest figures from Dieese show that wage negotiations in 2026 have so far been more favorable to workers than in 2025. Through September, about 86% of increases exceeded inflation measured by the INPC, while 3% resulted in real losses. Wages rose by an average of 1.08% above inflation; real gains were recorded in about 87% of negotiations in commerce, industry and services, and 72% in the rural sector.
Sources: Folha Mercado.