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![Will Temer spearhead a revitalization of Brazil's economy in 2017? [Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CmxmseE005004_20160705_MXMFN0A001_11n.jpg)
Will Temer spearhead a revitalization of Brazil’s economy in 2017? [Xinhua]
President Michel Temer announced on Friday the Brazilian government’s long-anticipated labor reform package which sets down 12 negotiation points between employers and their staff.
The draft bill, which Temer called “a great Christmas gift”, includes revised working hours and the introduction of productivity-based wages.
“I hope that starting from this Christmas it will be possible to unite all Brazilians,” Temer said.
In recent weeks, as the passage of austerity and reform resolutions looked likely in Congress, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have been protesting in the streets of major cities saying Temer’s pkans punish the poor.
Critics of this particular bill believe it will increase the workload of Brazilians without a matching hike in salaries.
The labor bill is the latest in a series of unpopular reforms the government is trying to introduce in order aid the recovery of Latin America’s largest economy.
The latest polls show that 46 per cent of Brazilians see the Temer administration as ‘bad’.
However, despite the poor approval ratings, Temer is undeterred.
In a press conference in Brasilia on Thursday, he said the ratings will not impede his government.
“There will be recognition later on,” he said.
Two weeks ago, a constitutional amendment passed by 53 votes for and 16 against to freeze the government’s social spending at the rate of inflation for the next 20 years.
Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the austerity measures were radical and lacked nuance and compassion.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
