Government will present new ordinance with rules for working on holidays

The Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho, stated this Wednesday (24) that the federal government will present a new ordinance with rules for working on holidays. The text will define the sectors considered essential and those that will be excluded from the need according to the union.

The announcement of the new ordinance was made after a meeting between the minister and representatives of employers and workers. The meeting is part of the government’s negotiations to reach a consensus in relation to ordinance 3,665/2023, signed by Marinho in November last year, which changed the rule for working hours in the commerce sector on holiday days.

The government’s decision that determined that employees in the segment could only work on holidays with authorization by the Collective Labor Agreement displeased economic sectors and the opposition. The measure gave more power to the unions, responsible for negotiating the different categories. With the criticism, the minister decided to back down from the decision and announced that the ordinance would be redone after further negotiations.

The minister’s retreat also occurred after a meeting with entities linked to businesspeople and commercial workers. In a note sent to People’s Gazettethe organizations stated that they asked Marinho to install a “National Trade Plan Negotiation Table” to build a solution for this period of work “with legal certainty and considering the diversity of situations present in this economic and labor segment”.

According to Marinho, the compression of workers who perform their duties on holidays will be defined with employers and labor entities. He stressed that the new ordinance will not change current legislation and assured that it must be published by February 5th.

“We made adjustments to the entire text of the ordinance, which will be republished. There is a group of rapporteurs changing the text, who will not present the final version today. The previous ordinance had the sole objective of provoking this national conversation, with a permanent table to discuss the topic, including from now on”, said Marinho.

The minister once again defended that the new ordinance will “correct an illegality” contained in another ordinance, from 2021, which allowed work on holidays without collective bargaining.

After the meeting, the representative of the National Commerce Confederation (CNC) Ivo Dall’Acqua explained to the press that the list of exceptions must exceed 200. He informed that the new law must only cover trade in products and, therefore, the sectors linked to services, such as bars, restaurants and hotels, will continue without the need for an agreement.

“The law does not cover bars and restaurants, which are part of the tourism and hospitality group. The ordinance will make clear the categories that can operate seven days a week, such as hotels and other activities. The law concerns the part of commerce that deals with wholesale and retail, merchandise trade, purchase and sales. Therefore, we treat exceptionalities with care so that everyone has equal treatment,” he declared.

In addition to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the meeting was attended by representatives from the following trade unions: CUT, National Confederation of Commerce Workers (CNTC) and Central dos Sindicatos Brasileiros (CSB). Employers were represented by CNC. With information from Agência Brasil.