Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Brazil - 2012
Population: 194,946,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
The year 2011 saw major labour disputes in the banking, civil aviation and fertiliser industries. Municipal cemetery worker held important negotiations following a hard-fought labour dispute
labour dispute
See industrial dispute
. Slave-like working conditions still exist and the authorities are keeping up their campaign to track down and prosecute those responsible. Seven rural activists were killed in 2011.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
reported violations - 2012
Background
In 2011, Brazil became the world’s sixth largest economy, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 2.5 trillion dollars and 12,900 dollars per capita. The unemployment rate, one of the lowest in the region, fell to 6.2%. Brazil nonetheless remains faced with serious social challenges, such as the need to tackle the high rate of illiteracy, improve public health, eradicate the slave-like working conditions to which people, especially migrants, are subjected, and to fight the poverty affecting at least 16 million of Brazil’s 190 million people.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 194,946,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations- 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Trade union rights in law
While basic trade union rights are guaranteed, a number of problematic areas exist in the law. The Constitution and the Labour Code protect the right of all workers to unionise, except for various state employees. The “unicidade” system stipulates that there can only be one trade union per economic or occupational category in each territorial area, and there are excessive requirements for establishing trade union centres.
Furthermore, the right to collective bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
is not adequately secured, as an agreement can be declared null and void if deemed to conflict with the government’s economic or financial policies. Civil servants have no collective bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
rights, and bargaining on wages is limited in joint ventures and public companies.
Despite the right to strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
being guaranteed for private and public sector workers alike, public service strikes are subject to a set of rules that have not yet been established. The national legislation contains a legal instrument known as a “prohibitory injunction
injunction
A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike.
”, which is used to prevent any threat to the property or assets of a specific owner. It could be qualified as a form of indirect defence. This instrument is exploited to ban or restrict picketing
picketing
Demonstration or patrolling outside a workplace to publicise the existence of an industrial dispute or a strike, and to persuade other workers not to enter the establishment or discourage consumers from patronising the employer. Secondary picketing involves picketing of a neutral establishment with a view to putting indirect pressure on the target employer.
, to “safeguard property against interference or despoilment”. In October 2011, trade union organisations criticised this mechanism at a public hearing held by the Senate’s Human Rights Commission, arguing that this instrument, in addition to undermining strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action, represents another way of criminalising social movements.
Freedom of association / Right to organize
Principles
Freedom of association :
- >The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
- >The right to freedom of association is regulated by law.
Anti-Union discrimination:
- >The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.
Restrictions
Restrictions on workers' right to form and join organizations of their own choosing:
- >Single trade union system imposed by law and/or a system banning or limiting organising at a certain level (enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and/or territorial, national)
- The "unicidade" system stipulates, however, that there can only be one trade union per economic or occupational category in each territorial area. This geographically based single union system means that some sectoral federations are not legally recognised.
- >Restrictions on trade unions' right to establish branches, federation and confederation or to affiliate with national and international organisations
- Union centres seeking recognition must meet the following requirements: the affiliation of at least 100 unions distributed across the five regions, the affiliation of unions in at least five sectors, and the affiliation of at least five per cent of all union members nationally in the first year, rising to at least seven per cent in two years. Less than six of the 17 existing "centres" meet these criteria.
Categories of workers prohibited or limited in law from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office:
- >Armed forces
- >Police
- >Other civil servants and public employees
- Fire fighters and various other state employees do not have the right to organise.
Right to collective bargaining
Principles
Right to collective bargaining:
- >The right to collective bargaining is not protected in law.
Restrictions
Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining:
- >Exclusion of certain matters from the scope of bargaining (e.g. wages, hours)
- Under section 623 of the Consolidated Labour Laws (CLT), an agreement can be declared null and void if it is deemed to conflict with the government's economic and financial policy, or the wage policy in force. Also, there are restrictions on collective wage bargaining in public and mixed enterprises, making real wage increases contingent upon certain criteria such as increased productivity, the distribution of dividends or the alignment of the overall remuneration of employees with current levels in the labour market. Furthermore, there are restrictions on the inclusion of automatic price index-related wage increases or the introduction of amendments to agreements, which restricts the ability of the parties to freely determine the subject and content of collective negotiations.
Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors:
- >Other civil servants and public employees
- Civil servants, including those not employed in the administration of the state, have no collective bargaining rights.
Right to strike
Principles
Right to strike:
- >The right to strike is enshrined in the Constitution.
- >The right to strike is regulated by a Labour Code.
The Constitution establishes the right to strike without restriction for all workers and state officials, apart from the police and the military. It provides for the right to strike in the public services, but makes its exercise subject to a specific set of rules that have not yet been established, thus creating difficulties, in practice, for public servants wishing to exercise the right to strike.
Restrictions
Provisions undermining the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness:
- >Other legal provisions undermining the right to strike
- The legal instrument known as an “interdito proibitório” (prohibitory ban), provided for in Article 1210 and subsequent articles of the Civil Code has been used to ban or restrict strike pickets on the grounds of "safeguarding property against interference or despoilment".
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 194,946,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations - 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
In practice
Slave labour in manufacturing industry: On 19 August 2011, the Labour Ministry discovered two manufacturing sweatshops in Sao Paulo employing 15 immigrants, mostly Bolivian and poor, who were being forced to work 16 hours a day in degrading conditions. According to an ILO
International Labour Organization
A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.
See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights study published in October 2011, the Brazilian Labour Inspectorate has, since 1995, freed over 36,000 people found working in slave-like conditions, without a contract or a wage.
See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights study published in October 2011, the Brazilian Labour Inspectorate has, since 1995, freed over 36,000 people found working in slave-like conditions, without a contract or a wage.
Sao Paulo’s municipal cemetery workers face collective bargaining deadlock: Municipal cemetery workers in charge of burials in the city of Sao Paulo, affiliated to the Sindicato dos Trabalhadores na Administração Pública e Autarquias do Município de São Paulo (Sindesp), went on strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike on 30 August. The action went on for seven days. The workers were demanding a pay rise of 39%, given that their wages had not been reviewed since 1995.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike on 30 August. The action went on for seven days. The workers were demanding a pay rise of 39%, given that their wages had not been reviewed since 1995.
Collective bargaining difficulties in civil aviation sector: On 21 October, the Sindicato Nacional dos Aeroportuários (SINA) led a 48-hour stoppage at Viracopos airport in the city of Campinas, around 100 km from Sao Paulo, in protest at the concession model chosen by the Brazilian government. Under the new model, ground operations, cargo handling, air navigation, fare control, specialised engineering and maintenance services will be contracted out to private companies, making employment conditions more precarious. The workers are still calling for their rights to be protected.
Zara fined for using slave labour: The Spanish fashion retailer Zara received 52 different fines for a whole range of irregularities, such as outsourcing
outsourcing
See contracting-out
the manufacture of its products to companies employing migrant labour to work over 16 hours a day in slave-like and unsanitary conditions.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 194,946,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations - 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Violations
Collective bargaining rights violated at fertiliser company Vale: In March 2011, the fertiliser company Vale, based in Araucaria in the state of Paraná, decided to disregard the negotiations it had engaged in with the petrochemical workers’ union Sindicato dos Trabalhadores nas Indústrias Petroquímicas (Sindiquímia). The company, showing total contempt for the workers’ demands, presented its own proposal, in which longstanding clauses of the collective agreement had been removed along with hard-fought gains in terms of health and safety. The workers rejected the proposal and no agreement had been reached by the end of the year.
Seven rural activists assassinated: Seven rural workers defending land rights were killed between May and August in the states of Pará and Rondonia. Attempts to denounce the illegal exploitation of natural resources led to an increase in violence in 2011. More than 1,150 rural or environmental activists, small farmers, judges, priests and other rural workers have been killed since 1998 in disputes over land rights and environmental protection issues.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 194,946,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations - 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher