Workers can only work holidays if their entire sector agrees
In Brazil, the balance between labor flexibility and worker protection is being redrawn. The Labor Ministry, under Minister Luiz Marinho, is preparing a regulation that restores collective bargaining as the required path for holiday and Sunday work arrangements, reversing a Bolsonaro-era policy that had allowed individual employer-employee deals. Expected to be published in early February, the new rule reflects a broader philosophical tension in democratic societies: how to honor both economic necessity and the dignity of organized labor.
- A Bolsonaro-era policy that gave employers direct power to negotiate holiday work with individual employees is being dismantled, shifting leverage back toward collective structures.
- Around 200 sectors face reclassification, creating urgency as businesses scramble to understand whether they will need a collective agreement or qualify for an exemption.
- Essential services like pharmacies and gas stations are at the center of the debate — their operational realities demand flexibility that the new rules must carefully accommodate.
- Minister Marinho convened employers and employee representatives in a single session to forge consensus, framing the outcome not as a labor victory but as a negotiated settlement.
- The final text is expected between February 1st and 5th, with most of the substantive work already done — what remains is formalization, not dispute.
O Ministério do Trabalho do Brasil está prestes a transformar as regras que regem o trabalho em feriados e domingos, com uma nova portaria prevista para ser publicada no início de fevereiro. Na quarta-feira, o ministro Luiz Marinho reuniu representantes de empregadores e trabalhadores para definir os contornos de uma regulamentação que altera profundamente a dinâmica das negociações trabalhistas no país.
A nova regra revoga uma política do governo Bolsonaro que permitia acordos diretos entre empresas e funcionários para o trabalho em feriados. Com a mudança, essa flexibilidade individual desaparece: o trabalho nesses dias só poderá ser exigido se o setor inteiro tiver respaldado a prática por meio de convenção coletiva — um critério significativamente mais rigoroso.
A complexidade da medida reside nas exceções. Farmácias precisam funcionar no Natal; postos de combustível não podem fechar no Ano Novo. Por isso, a portaria listará explicitamente quais setores estão isentos da exigência de negociação coletiva. Cerca de 200 setores estão sendo avaliados nesse processo.
Marinho descreveu o resultado como consenso entre três partes — Ministério, trabalhadores e empregadores — que será formalizado em regulamento. O texto final deveria ser entregue ao governo até quinta-feira, com publicação esperada entre 1º e 5 de fevereiro. Para os trabalhadores, a mudança representa proteções mais sólidas na maioria dos setores; para os serviços essenciais, a flexibilidade operacional necessária será preservada dentro de um novo marco mais estruturado.
Brazil's Labor Ministry is preparing to reshape how work on holidays and Sundays gets negotiated, with a new regulation expected to land in early February. On Wednesday, Labor Minister Luiz Marinho sat down with representatives from both employer and employee organizations to hammer out the details of a rule that will fundamentally shift power away from individual deals struck between companies and workers.
The new regulation reverses a policy from Jair Bolsonaro's administration that had allowed employers to negotiate directly with employees about working on Sundays and holidays. Under the incoming rules, that flexibility disappears. Workers can only be required to work those days if their entire industry sector has agreed to it through a collective bargaining agreement—a much higher bar that effectively restricts when and how holiday work can happen.
What makes this regulation complicated is that not every sector operates the same way. A pharmacy needs to be open on Christmas. A gas station can't close on New Year's Day. So the new portaria will carve out exceptions. The ministry and the stakeholders agreed Wednesday that the final text will explicitly list which sectors get exempted from the collective bargaining requirement and which ones must follow it strictly. Around 200 sectors are being evaluated in this process, with pharmacies and gas stations among those expected to receive permission to operate on holidays—provided they have the proper agreements in place.
Marinho framed the outcome as consensus. "There is an understanding among the three groups—the Ministry, employees, and employers—that will be sent to the government in the form of a regulation, specifying which activities are excepted and which ones have the obligation to have a collective agreement to operate on holidays," he said. The language matters here. This is not a victory for one side or the other, but rather a negotiated settlement that acknowledges different economic realities while tightening the overall rules.
The timeline is tight. The final text was supposed to be delivered to the government by Thursday, January 25th, with publication expected between February 1st and 5th. That narrow window suggests the three parties have already done much of the heavy lifting, and what remains is bureaucratic formalization rather than substantive dispute. Still, the regulation represents a meaningful shift in how Brazil's labor market will function. Where employers once had broad latitude to arrange holiday work through individual negotiations, they will now face a more structured, sector-by-sector framework that requires collective agreement. For workers, it means stronger protections in most industries, though essential services will retain the flexibility they need to keep operating.
Citações Notáveis
There is an understanding among the three groups that will be sent to the government in the form of a regulation, specifying which activities are excepted and which ones have the obligation to have a collective agreement to operate on holidays.— Labor Minister Luiz Marinho
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter whether holiday work gets negotiated individually or through collective agreements?
Because individual negotiations favor whoever has more leverage. A single worker negotiating with a large employer usually loses. Collective agreements mean the whole sector sits down together, and unions have a seat at the table.
So this is a rollback of something Bolsonaro did?
Exactly. His administration loosened the rules to give employers more flexibility. This new regulation tightens them back up, but with carve-outs for sectors that genuinely need to operate on holidays.
Why would pharmacies and gas stations be different?
They provide essential services. People need medicine and fuel on holidays. You can't just shut down. So the rule acknowledges that reality while still requiring some form of agreement—it's not a free pass.
Who actually won here—employers or workers?
It's genuinely mixed. Workers got stronger protections in most sectors. Employers got clarity about which sectors can operate on holidays. Neither side got everything they wanted, which is probably why they all agreed to it.
What happens if a sector isn't on the exemption list?
Then they can't operate on holidays unless they have a collective bargaining agreement in place. That's a real constraint on business, but it's also a real protection for workers.