Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Brazil (Ratification: 1957)

Article 8 of the Convention. Deductions from wages. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Legislative Decree No. 5452 of 1 May 1943 (Consolidação das leis do trabalho – CLT) does not establish a maximum limit to the deductions which can be made on wages, but that by virtue of certain court decisions, which prohibit deductions of over 70 per cent of the basic wage of the employee, it is generally accepted that the minimum amount of the net wage which has to be paid is 30 per cent. In this respect, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 8 of the Convention provides that deductions from wages shall be permitted only under conditions and to the extent prescribed by the law. It also recalls that deductions should be limited to the extent deemed necessary for the maintenance of the worker and his family and that consequently the level of deductions currently authorized on the basis of case law could be considered as excessively high. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to bring the legislation into conformity with this provision of the Convention.

The Committee further notes ruling No. 342 of the Higher Labour Tribunal finding that “deductions made by the employer, with the written authorization of the employee, intended to constitute medical insurance and private insurance, cooperative, cultural, recreational or associative plans, in the interests of the worker and his or her family, are not contrary to the provisions of section 142 of Legislative Decree No. 5452 of 1 May 1943, except where the presence of coercion or other flaws in the giving of consent are proven”. In this respect, the Committee wishes to refer to paragraph 217 of its 2003 General Survey on the protection of wages, which indicates that provisions of national legislation which permit deductions by virtue of individual agreements or consent are not compatible with Article 8, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Although section 142 of the Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT) is in conformity with this provision of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that individual agreements are not a valid legal means of authorizing deductions from wages, except where the national legislation prescribes in a detailed and exhaustive manner the types of deductions for which such agreements may be authorized.

Article 13, paragraph 2. Prohibition upon the payment of wages in taverns, stores for the retail sale of merchandise and places of amusement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the payment of wages to young persons under 18 years of age is prohibited in taverns and other similar settings. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the laws or regulations prohibiting the payment of wages in the places referred to above in respect of all workers, as required by this Article of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information provided in the Government’s report. It would be grateful if the Government would continue providing general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied including, for instance, extracts from official reports of the inspection services containing indications on the number and nature of infringements reported, information on practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Convention, etc.