Freedom of Association
Database 2024

Freedom of Association
Indicator
Freedom of Association
Countries
LRI 2024
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Brazil

Freedom of Association Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2024 (LRI 2024) is a de-jure index covering 145 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2024.

Brazil’s overall score is 85.5 out of 100. The overall score for Brazil is the greater than the regional average observed across Latin America and The Caribbean (73). Within Latin America and The Caribbean, the highest score is observed in Brazil (85.5).

Brazil ratified Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining in 1952 but has not ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948).

Labour Rights Index 2024

85.5/100

LRI Country Score

50/100

Freedom of Association Indicator

13.03 %

Trade union density rate (%)

64.8 %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

2.22

SDG indicator 8.8.2

4

ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

More Info

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

No

0

§516, Consolidated Labour Laws (No. 5452 of 1943); ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Brazil Profile); USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Brazil)

A,C,D

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

Yes

1

CEACR, C98, Obs. 2023; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Brazil Profile)

B,C

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0

§10 of the Law No. 7.783 of 1989

A

Does the law prohibit imposing of excessive sanctions against striking workers?

Yes

1

§7 of Law No. 7.783 of 1989; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Brazil)

A,D

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/  

Freedom of Association Indicator
The Freedom of Association indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100. 

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT. 

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT. 

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT. 

ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March.  For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link. 

Information

Source: §516, Consolidated Labour Laws (No. 5452 of 1943); ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Brazil Profile); USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Brazil)

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

"Art. 516 - No more than one Trade Union representing the same economic or professional category, or liberal profession, will be recognized in a given territorial base."

C : ITUC

ITUC Global Rights Index (country legal profile)

"Only one union is allowed at each level, that is, municipal, inter-municipal, state or federal (Art. 516 Labor Laws)."

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

"The law stipulated certain restrictions, such as unicidade (in essence, one union per occupational category per city), which limited freedom of association by prohibiting multiple, competing unions of the same professional category in a single geographical area. Unions that represented workers in the same geographical area and professional category could contest another union’s registration."

Information

Source: CEACR, C98, Obs. 2023; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Brazil Profile)

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations

"The Committee recalls that, by virtue of Act No. 13.467 of 2017, section 444 of the CLT has the effect that, in the domain covered by section 611-A of the CLT, the clauses of individual contracts of employment of employees who have a higher education diploma and who receive a salary that is at two times higher than the ceiling for benefits under the general social security scheme prevail over the content of collective agreements and accords, including where the clauses of individual employment contracts are less protective. The Committee recalls in this regard that: (i) the present Convention is fully applicable to the workers covered by section 444 of the CLT insofar as, under the terms of Articles 5 and 6, only members of the armed forces and the police (Article 5) and public servants engaged in the administration of the State (Article 6) may be excluded from its scope of application; and (ii) as explicitly set out in Paragraph 3 of the Collective Agreements Recommendation, 1951 (No. 91), the obligation to promote collective bargaining set out in Article 4 of the Convention requires that the individual negotiation of the terms of the contract of employment cannot derogate from the rights and guarantees provided in the applicable collective agreements, on the understanding that contracts of employment can always set out more favourable terms and conditions of work and employment."

C : ITUC

ITUC Global Rights Index (country legal profile)

"The interim measures (MP No. 927, published on 22 March 2020, and MP No. 936, published on 1 April 2020), adopted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, seriously undermine the right to collective bargaining by giving priority to individual agreements between employer and employee over collective bargaining."

Information

Source: §10 of the Law No. 7.783 of 1989

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

"A. 10 The following are considered essential services or activities: I - water treatment and supply; production and distribution of electricity, gas and fuels; II - medical and hospital assistance; III - distribution and sale of medicines and food; IV - funeral; V - public transport; VI - collection and treatment of sewage and garbage; VII - telecommunications; VIII - storage, use and control of radioactive substances, nuclear equipment and materials; IX - processing of data linked to essential services; X - air traffic control and air navigation; (As amended by Law No. 13,903 of 2019) port activities. XI bank compensation. XII - medical-expert activities related to the general social security system and social assistance; (Included by Law No. 13,846, of 2019) XIII - medical-expert activities related to the characterization of the physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment of the person with a disability, through the integration of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary teams, for the purpose of recognizing rights provided for by law, in particular in Law No. 13,146, of July 6, 2015 (Statute of Persons with Disabilities); and (Included by Law No. 13,846, of 2019) XIV - other medical-expert services of the Federal Medical Expert career essential to meeting the community's urgent needs. (Included by Law No. 13,846, of 2019) "

Information

Source: §7 of Law No. 7.783 of 1989; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Brazil)

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

"Art. 7º Subject to the conditions set forth in this Law, participation in a strike suspends the employment contract, and the obligatory relationships during the period must be governed by the agreement, convention, arbitration award or decision of the Labor Court. Sole paragraph. Termination of employment contracts during a strike is prohibited, as is the hiring of replacement workers, except in the cases provided for in articles 9 and 14."

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

"Employers were not allowed to hire substitute workers during a legal strike or fire workers for strike-related activity, provided the strike was not ruled abusive as defined in the law."