Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141) - Brazil (Ratification: 1994)

The Committee notes the observations of the National Transport Confederation (CNT), which relate to matters examined by the Committee in this comment.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of rural workers to establish and join organizations of their choosing. For years the Committee has been recalling that the levying of a compulsory union contribution for all workers in a particular economic category by means of the Constitution or by legal means is not in conformity with the principles of freedom of association, and that, questions relating to the financing of union organizations should be governed by the rules of the respective organizations, or be the result of standards agreed in of collective agreements. The Committee notes with interest that, through the reform introduced by Law No. 13476/2017, trade union contributions ceased to be compulsory and became optional, as provided for in the new wording of section 578 of the Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT). The Committee notes that the Government indicates that this legislative amendment was examined by the Supreme Court of Brazil, which considered it to be in conformity with the Brazilian legal system. On the other hand, the Committee notes that, in its observations concerning the application of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT) alleges that: (i) this important alteration of the system of trade union contributions was decided with anti-union motivation and without listening to workers’ organizations or allowing them to participate in its elaboration; (ii) these modifications, which privilege the individual sphere, were exacerbated by the Provisional Measure (a legislative measure that the President may adopt for a maximum period of 120 days without approval by the National Congress) No. 873, adopted by the Government on 1 March 2019 to introduce additional modifications to the CLT, requiring express, individual and written authorizations from the workers concerned for the payment of a union contribution from the wages and preventing discounts on contributions from being established through union assemblies or collective bargaining; and (iii) Provisional Measure No. 873 imposed additional restrictions, such as limiting the enforceability of union members or obliging their processing via bank slips (which the CUT considers impossible to implement because of the costs involved). While noting that the Provisional Measure is no longer in force, the Committee recalls that issues relating to the deduction of trade union dues should be able to be included among the subjects for negotiation and not subject uniquely to regulation by the law, and that the manner for their collection should be determined by the parties themselves. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on this matter.

On the other hand, the Committee notes that the following provisions remain to be brought into line with Article 3 of the Convention:

• -the prohibition of establishing more than one trade union, whatever its level, to represent the same occupational or economic category in the same geographical area (article 8(II) of the Constitution and section 516 of the Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT)); and
• -the requirement of five lower-level organizations for the establishment of federations and confederations (section 534 of the CLT).

The Committee notes that the Government indicates in this regard that: (i) a constitutional reform implies several legal procedures and political considerations; (ii) Law No. 13476/2017 represented a major change in labour legislation, both in individual and collective matters; (iii) in this last area of collective labour relations, the Government plans to introduce new modifications to improve the harmony between national and international law; and (iv) section 534 of the CLT concerns an issue that will be examined further. Having taken due note of the information provided, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary additional measures to ensure full compliance with Article 3 of the Convention.