Dilma on the 80-hour work week: horde of barbarians

During a rally in defense of the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" (My House, My Life) program in Taboão da Serra, in Greater São Paulo, President Dilma Rousseff described as "absurd" the CNI's proposal to increase the worker's work week from 44 to up to 80 hours; "Is that true?", asked Dilma, incredulous; "We only hear this absurdity when the provisional government, without commitment to the people, seizes power. And like a horde of barbarians, tries to reverse achievements that are not from the last 13 years, they are achievements that we reached in 1950, in 1942. This is absurd," protested the president; she reiterated that "we will overcome this coup"; "They shouldn't think we fear them," she said.

July 08, 2016, 20:49 pmUpdated May 28, 2019, 08:55 AM

During a rally in defense of the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" (My House, My Life) program in Taboão da Serra, in Greater São Paulo, President Dilma Rousseff described as "absurd" the CNI's proposal to increase the worker's work week from 44 to up to 80 hours; "Is that true?", asked Dilma, incredulous; "We only hear this absurdity when the provisional government, without commitment to the people, seizes power. And like a horde of barbarians, it tries to reverse achievements that are not from the last 13 years, they are achievements that we reached in 1950, in 1942. This is absurd," protested the president; she reiterated that "we will overcome this coup"; "They shouldn't think we fear them," she said (Photo: Gisele Federicce).

247 - President Dilma Rousseff strongly criticized the proposal presented by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) to increase the working hours of Brazilian workers from 44 to up to 80 hours per week, and up to 12 hours per day. "It's absurd," Dilma retorted on Friday afternoon, the 8th, during an event in defense of the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" (My House, My Life) program in Taboão da Serra, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.

"Is this proposal circulating on the internet true?" Dilma asked incredulously during her speech. "We only hear this nonsense when the interim government, with no commitment to the people, seizes power. And like a horde of barbarians, it tries to reverse achievements that didn't happen in the last 13 years, achievements we reached in 1950, in 1942. This is absurd," the president protested.

Dilma said that the "illegitimate government has a position contrary to individual and collective rights" and criticized several proposals made by members of Michel Temer's team, such as the end of the first tier of the Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House, My Life) program or the statement by the interim Minister of Health, Ricardo Barros, that there are no resources for the SUS (Unified Health System). She reiterated that "we will overcome this coup." "They shouldn't think we fear them," she said.

Watch the video of the speech: