Senate Panel Approves 36-Hour Benchmark for Brazil’s Nursing Pay Floor

Overview

• The Senate Constitution and Justice Committee, which voted Wednesday, sent the constitutional amendment to the full chamber for two rounds that require at least 49 votes.
• The text ties the national nursing wage floor to a maximum 36-hour workweek for nurses, technicians, auxiliaries, and midwives across public and private employers.
• The measure orders an annual pay floor adjustment that cannot be lower than the index that best reflects inflation over the prior 12 months.
• Senators shifted the draft from 30 to 36 hours as a negotiated compromise led by rapporteur Fabiano Contarato and sponsor Eliziane Gama, and the committee approved a special fast-track calendar.
• State and city officials expect higher payroll costs estimated around R$7 billion to R$8 billion, and there is no official funding source yet identified.