Working hours, Civil Code and more: legislative priorities for the CNI
The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) should monitor more closely in 2026 at least 135 proposals that are being processed in the National Congress, with the industrial sector defending the approval of 81 of them (60%) – some with reservations – and taking a different position in relation to 54 (40%) of the projects listed.
This is the summary of the 31st edition of the Industry Legislative Agenda, which the CNI launches this Tuesday (24), in a ceremony in the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies. The document brings together propositions monitored by the industrial sector, with emphasis on labor, tax, foreign trade, infrastructure and innovation projects.
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Fifteen of these projects were listed as priorities and are listed in the Minimum Industry Agenda. According to the CNI, the main proposals today are the PEC to reduce working hours, the legal framework for industrial policy and the new general concessions law. See this minimum list below.
| Project | Theme | Industry position |
| PEC 8/2025 | Reduction of working hours to 8 hours a day and 36 hours a week for 4 days a week | Divergent |
| PL 4007/2025 | Incentives for employability and entrepreneurship through the Bolsa Família Program | Convergent |
| PL 1363/2021 | Reduction of working hours to 8 hours a day and 36 hours a week for 4 days a week | Divergent |
| PL 2015/2019 | Exemption from additional contribution for special retirement when there is a reduction in the degree of exposure | Convergent with reservations |
| PL 6139/2023 | Export credit – approved, awaiting sanction | Convergent |
| PDL 41/2026 | Mercosur-European Union Agreement – already enacted on 3/17 | Convergent |
| PL 4423/2024 | General rules on Foreign Trade of goods | Convergent |
| PL 4/2025 | Reform of the Civil Code | Divergent |
| PEC 42/2024 | Supervision of regulatory agencies by the Chamber of Deputies | Divergent |
| PL 2373/2025 | General Concessions Law | Convergent |
| PL 10108/2018 | Regulation of water reuse activity | Convergent with reservations |
| PL 3375/2024 | Expansion of penalties for crimes against brands | Convergent |
| PL 1780/2022 | Regulation of the contractual relationship for the distribution of industrialized products | Divergent with reservations |
| PL 4133/2023 | Formulation of Brazilian industrial, technological and foreign trade policy | Convergent with reservations |
| PL 2338/2023 | Definition of standards and guidelines for the use of Artificial Intelligence | Convergent with reservations |
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Reduction of working hours
Regarding the reduction of working hours, the CNI recognizes that the practice is authorized by the Federal Constitution, through a collective agreement or convention. But the measure by legal imposition, as intended in PL 67/2025, “is of questionable constitutionality and discourages collective bargaining”.
“This negotiation is the best way to preserve the needs of workers and companies, since it is the social agents who have legitimacy and knowledge of the reality and needs of the sector. Furthermore, current legislation already allows the negotiated reduction of working hours and working hours, as long as legal limits are respected”, says the CNI in its document.
The Confederation also says it defends the search for better working conditions and a higher quality of life for workers, but that proposals that impose a reduction in working hours to 36 hours a week and the adoption of a week of just four days, without salary reduction, “represent a significant risk to the country’s competitiveness, business sustainability and the creation of formal jobs”.
Reform of the Civil Code
The bill that proposes structural changes to the Civil Code, changing more than 900 articles, is also criticized by the business entity. According to the CNI, changes in chapters that deal with obligations and contracts, civil liability and company law, in addition to the creation of the book called “Digital Civil Law”, are changes that can affect the way in which economic agents attribute risks in different operations, as a result of social function and good faith.
For the CNI, the proposal for an abrupt rupture in the Civil Liability Title, by removing the centrality of fault and establishing the degree of risk as a criterion for reparation “could result in excessive compensation and uncertainty, incompatible with the principle of proportionality, attracting risks of legal uncertainty and lack of predictability, as a result of a new cycle of litigation”.
Prioritizations
The president of the CNI, Ricardo Alban, warns in a note that the industrial sector intends to contribute to the economic and social improvement of the country, at a time of accelerated technological transformations, reorganization of global value chains and intensification of geopolitical disputes that have placed industry at the center of national development and sovereignty strategies.
“This election year requires the prioritization of initiatives capable of reinvigorating the business environment, ensuring regulatory predictability and sustaining the competitiveness of our economy, contributing to the generation of jobs and income, in addition to improving the population’s living conditions”, he highlights.
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From the list highlighted by the CNI of the 2026 Agenda, two projects have already been approved – PDL 41/2026, which ratifies the Mercosur-European Union Agreement and PL 6139/2023, which modernizes the Brazilian export credit system. The first has already been enacted by the Legislature and the second awaits presidential sanction.
