BRASILIA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Michel Temer defended on Thursday the country's new labor law which entered into force last Saturday, saying that the old labor legislation prevented the creation of new jobs.
"We did the modernization of the labor law, which would reach all entrepreneurial sectors, because the law has impeded the creation of new jobs," Temer said in an address to entrepreneurs in Brasilia.
The changes made to the labor law were "measures thought of in the past," Temer said."Now we take them forward."
The president acknowledged that the structural reforms in Brazil are meeting a lot of public resistance, but said he had found the way to proceed with his social security reform.
One of the labor law's signature changes will allow negotiated agreements between employers and workers to override current labor protections.
Supporters say that will provide much-needed flexibility, while critics argue that it will pressure vulnerable workers to cede important rights.
