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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Brazil' s Labor Ministry has formally denied that the federal government plans to lift the country's work-hour ceilings.
"There will not be an increase in the 44-hour weekly workload or in the daily workload of eight hours," according to a statement released by the ministry on Friday.
The statement is in response to criticism caused by remarks made Thursday by Labor Minister Ronaldo Nogueira that the federal government is expected to propose by the end of this year labor reforms, which would increase the maximum daily workload to as much as 12 hours and the maximum weekly to 48 hours.
President Michel Temer's government is facing heavy pressure to improve the performance of Brazil's sluggish economy where unemployment is rising and much of the labor force earn barely more than minimum wage.
