Young Black people earning up to 1,5 minimum wages: atlas launched at Flip provides an X-ray of the 6x1 scale.
According to research presented at Flip, the income of 46% of workers on a 6x1 schedule is between R$ 1.412 and R$ 2.120.
247 - The majority of workers on the 6x1 shift schedule are young Black people who earn up to one and a half minimum wages and spend more than an hour and a half commuting to work. The Atlas of the 6x1 Shift Schedule research, presented at this year's Paraty International Literary Festival (Flip), showed that the average income of 46% of workers on the 6x1 shift schedule is between R$ 1.412 and R$ 2.120, and another 22% receive up to one minimum wage.
According to the research, low wages particularly affect Black women. The percentage of Black women earning up to R$ 2.120,00 reaches 80,7%, higher than that of Black people in general (73%), and much higher than that of white people in general (59,47%). Among those interviewed, almost 70% saw no possibility of salary improvement in their current occupation.
The survey was conducted in two stages: the first using a questionnaire with 26 questions applied to 3.775 workers in 394 Brazilian cities between December 2024 and April 2025. This stage made it possible to create an analytical tripod between time, space, and the daily lives of workers. In the second stage, microdata were extracted from the RAIS (Annual Social Information Report) of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, which allowed the production of a national cartography of the more than 34 million Brazilians who are subjected to the so-called 6x1 scale.
The Atlas is the result of a partnership between researchers from the Observatory, the Rio de Janeiro Commercial Workers Union, and the Association for Work, Network, Monitoring and Memory (Trama). The research was carried out in two stages: the first using a questionnaire between December 2024 and April 2025.
In addition to reflecting on low wages, the Atlas shows the importance of free time for the quality of life of the working class. The negative impact of the 6x1 work schedule is evidenced by the high rate of sick leave requests – 27% of workers submitted medical certificates in the last month and 21% reported delays at work — data that highlight the exhaustion generated by this schedule. The research also shows that 33% spend more than an hour and a half commuting to and from work, with many exceeding 30 km per day just to get there.
Among the categories that registered the highest level of impact are retail workers (supermarket cashiers, shop assistants, and store salespeople), where 87% reported having their personal lives negatively impacted by the 6x1 work schedule. Among the activities most affected are leisure (52,6%), family relationships (43,5%), and rest (37,9%). This dissatisfaction is also reflected in the difficulty some employers are facing in hiring, even resorting to recruiting from the military.
This stage made it possible to create an analytical tripod between time, space, and the daily lives of workers. In the second stage, microdata were extracted from the RAIS (Annual Social Information Report) of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, which enabled the production of a national cartography of the more than 34 million Brazilians who are subjugated to the so-called 6x1 scale.
“This Atlas is a synthesis. A partial synthesis, since it is impossible to translate, in words and maps, the suffering of the working class on the 6x1 schedule. It is also opportune to remember that the launch takes place at a festival dedicated to literature and, now, to the books that were not read, due to lack of time and resources, by the workers on the 6x1 schedule. The festival, I hope, will announce the good fight for the end of the 6x1 schedule,” said the coordinator of the Observatory of the Brazilian Social State, Tadeu Arrais.
Also participating in the Flip meeting, federal deputy Jandira Feghali (PCdoB) reinforced that ending the 6x1 work schedule is to curb oppression. "The data presented in this launch clearly show what the 6x1 schedule represents. The fight for the reduction of the workday is part of a larger struggle, which is the fight against capitalist oppression."
The president of the Rio de Janeiro Commercial Workers Union, Márcio Ayer, said that the Atlas "will serve as yet another instrument in the workers' struggle against this grueling work schedule." One of the representatives of the TRAMA Association, Rodrigo Ribeiro, highlighted that "the partnership between academic research centers, social movements, and third-sector organizations is crucial for producing data and visibility in the fight for social justice."
For Dani Balbi (PCdoB), state deputy and president of the Labor Commission of the Alerj (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro), it is fundamental to observe the exploitation suffered, especially by women. "We are seeing in this research that the most affected group are black women from the periphery; the fight against the 6x1 work schedule is a fight for all of us; it represents the construction of a more just and balanced society."
