Inclusive Future of Work: Brazil

Country brief prepared for the 1st EWG under the 2019 Brazilian presidency of the BRICS

The future of work in Brazil is being shaped by a variety of factors, including technological innovations, trends in education, vocational training and skills, the demographic transition and climate change. The inclusiveness of these transformations will be largely affected by labour market dynamics surrounding informal work, emerging non-standard forms of employment (NSE) and income inequalities.

These transformations open opportunities to modernize important segments of the economy, foster widespread upgrading of educational levels and skills and ensure a just transition to an even lower-carbon energy mix.

At the same time, Brazil is faced with a number of challenges, in different domains related to the key drivers of the future of work. These challenges include: accelerating the diffusion of new technologies to spur productivity, innovation and competitiveness; promoting quality education, vocational training and digital skills while leaving no one behind; ensuring social protection and pension coverage in the transition to an ageing society; staying on track in combating deforestation and reducing emissions; and reconceiving policies, institutions and regulatory instruments to extend rights, protection and representation to informal, own-account and NSE workers.

The Brazilian government has many successful policy experiences, and will need to continue innovating in order to confront these new challenges with policies and regulatory frameworks that are suited to promoting an inclusive, human-centred future of work.