Government aims to cut red tape by altering labor regulations

The Jair Bolsonaro government’s economic team—led by the ultra-liberal Economy Minister Paulo Guedes—set out some fundamental pillars at the beginning of the year around which its work has been centered. The first is to reshuffle Brazil’s macroeconomic environment by way of sweeping reforms to the pensions and tax systems. Another is to reduce the size of the state, selling off public assets in a bid to cut costs. And finally, the ministry seeks to slash bureaucracy for the private sector, to create a “pro-business” environment which could attract investments.

In the latest step toward reducing bureaucracy, the government has announced it will make wholesale changes to a set of rules regulating workplace health and safety, theoretically making things easier for employers.

Brazil is notorious for its love of red tape. Simple administrative tasks can often be subject to byzantine requirements and inexplicable delays. The typical example is the phenomenon of the “recognized signature,” a process which involves paying a notary to attest to the integrity of one’s own signature for use on official documents. Legislation from last year removed any requirements for recognized signatures by government agencies, but they are still commonplace in commerce registries and courts.

Earlier this year, the government presented its so-called “Economic Freedom Decree,” which loosened several requirements for new companies to obtain operating licenses. Now, the Bolsonaro administration is going a step further in its bid to alter the so-called “regulatory norms” (NRs)...