A REDUÇÃO DA JORNADA DE TRABALHO E O DESEMPREGO: ANÁLISE À LUZ DO DIREITO COMPARADO E DA EXPERIÊNCIA BRASILEIRA

Abstract

This scientific research aims to analyze whether the reduction of working hours in Brazil could be a vector for implementing a full employment policy in response to unemployment. It is primarily a documentary/bibliographic study, analyzed through an analytical, interpretative, and comparative procedure. In this regard, it begins with a historical-constitutional and contemporary analysis of the concept of work as a social right. Additionally, it examines the treatment of labor protections in Brazil, particularly after the consolidation of the neoliberal agenda in the 1990s. The study then analyzes the cases of France, the United States, and Colombia, highlighting the construction process of their working hours and the effects of their integration into the Washington Consensus. Finally, the effects of the flexible policies adopted during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso government are examined, along with the pre-labor reform context of 2017 and the outcomes achieved with the implementation of that reform. Furthermore, it investigates whether the reduction of working hours presents itself as a solution to unemployment and a means to reduce inequality. In this context, the research concludes that the reduction of working hours is an important tool in combating unemployment and reducing inequality. The consequences of such adjustments would positively impact labor relations, as it would promote an effective distribution of national income. Moreover, the study finds that reduced working hours would benefit not only the worker but labor relations as a whole: from both a social and political perspective, the measure has the potential to increase the quantity and quality of jobs, promote social mobility, and provide more efficient levels of employee health and satisfaction.