Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Population:
193,700,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
A number of trade unionists were killed in 2010, in spite of government efforts to tackle this problem. The persecution of trade unionists, anti-union practices and dismissals persisted in the private sector. The government fined companies employing workers, some migrant, in slave-like conditions in the agricultural and garment sectors. Trade union pluralism is restricted and the authorities have the right to reject collective agreements.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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 - 2011
Background
Over the last eight years, Brazil has created over 15 million formal jobs, 2.5 million in 2010. Unemployment has fallen, going from 12% to less than 6%. The minimum wage was increased by 67% as a result of an agreement between the government and the trade union centres, leading to poverty being reduced by over 20%. The rate of informal employment however remained very high, at almost 47%, along with growing underemployment. In 2010, Brazil adopted a national plan for decent work.
As part of its policy against discrimination at work, the government announced that it would submit the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families to Congress for ratification.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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:
193,700,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations- 2011
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 public and mixed enterprises.
Although 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
is guaranteed for private and public sector workers alike, striking in the public services is subject to a set of rules that have not yet been established. Finally, the legal instrument known as an “interdito proibitório” (prohibitory ban) has been used to ban or restrict 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
pickets on the grounds of “safeguarding property against interference or despoilment”.
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) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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:
193,700,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations - 2011
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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:
193,700,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations - 2011
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Violations
Serious harassment and persecution of union leader at Claro, América Móvil: In March 2010, a director at Claro, América Móvil perpetrated acts of persecution against trade union leader Valdemar Antonio da Silva Junior, to stop him from taking part in the union elections, of which the company had been legally notified. The same director then went on to sack the trade union leader, who was ultimately reinstated on the grounds that the rights protecting him as a trade unionist had been violated. The persecution continued, with ruthless moral harassment that finally resulted in the trade union leader being admitted to hospital due to the severe stress suffered.
Agricultural labour leader assassinated: On 31 March, Pedro Alcántara de Souza, policy coordinator of the agricultural union FETRAF in Pará, was killed in the municipality of Redenção in the south of Pará. Pedro Alcántara had informed the Human Rights Forum that he had been receiving threats from estate owners over the last month. The authorities are still investigating the case.
Trade union leader allegedly killed by security guard at Sony: On 1 October, Augusto Lima da Cruz, leader of the metalworkers’ union, Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos, affiliated to the national metalworkers’ confederation CNM-CUT, was killed. According to witnesses, the leader was killed by security guard Hernani Puga Neto from the Visam security firm providing security services to Sony, whilst holding a conversation about the company’s policies. Hernani took flight on a motorbike, assisted by the other security guards.
Trade unionist killed in São Paulo: On 12 November, José Carlos da Silva, a member of the transport union Sindicato dos Motoristas e Trabalhadores em Transporte Rodoviário Urbano de São Paulo, was killed. He was shot at several times by two men whilst in his car.
Dismissals and anti-union practices at Santander Group: The wave of dismissals seen within the Santander Group during 2009 continued into 2010, as the company pursued its policy of violating trade union rights and guarantees and disregarding the OECD guidelines on multinational companies. The group also deployed anti-union practices affecting the workers’ right to organise and 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 .
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike .
Farms fined for holding workers in slave-like conditions:
One hundred and eighty workers were freed from slave-like conditions at farms owned by the Lima Araújo Agropecuaria company in the state of Pará. Among the employees were ten teenagers, including a boy aged 14. The High Court of Labour ordered the company to pay a fine of USD2.9 million.
Workers being kept like slave labourers were also discovered in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where 95 were rescued from farms in Campo de Goytacazes. Another 51 were rescued in Cambui, in the state of Minas Gerais. They were employed as strawberry pickers and sugarcane workers.
Migrant workers exploited by Lojas Marisa: In 2010, garment manufacturer Lojas Marisa was found to have undocumented migrants working for it in precarious and unsanitary conditions for more than 12 hours a day. The Regional Department of Labour in São Paulo fined the company, as well as ordering it to register the 17 workers found in the garment workshop and to pay them the wages owed for the work done.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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:
193,700,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations - 2011
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Videos
- Decent Work and Life Seminar for Immigrant Workers from Brazil and Paraguay
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 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:
193,700,000
Capital: Brasilia
Capital: Brasilia
reported violations
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher