Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Brazil (Ratification: 1952)

The Committee observes that, with regard to the various questions raised in its previous observation, the Government has provided a report, although this was not requested for the present meeting. The Committee proposes to examine the report at its next meeting during the regular reporting cycle on the application of the Convention. The Committee notes with interest that the Government is ready to receive an ILO technical mission in April 1999.

With regard to the comments made by the Sindicato dos Arrumadores de Sao Sebastiao and the Sindicato dos Estivadores de Sao Sebastiao in June 1997, the Committee notes the discussions on the application of the Convention by Brazil that took place in the Conference Committee in June 1998, and the Government's reply to the unions' comments. The trade unions in question state that: (i) the Government, citing the deregulation of port activities, promulgated Federal Act No. 8630/93 concerning regulations governing the operation of organized ports and port facilities, which repeals section VII of the Consolidation of Labour Laws and other relevant decrees and therefore constitutes a retrograde step; and (ii) the Government is not taking any measures in response to the reluctance of employers in the sector to conclude some form of collective labour agreement, although according to Federal Act No. 8630/93 an instrument of this type is necessary.

The Committee notes that the Government states in reply to these comments that: (i) modernization of the port system is necessary, which is why Act No. 8630/93 of 25 February 1993 (known as the Ports Act) was enacted: the Act provides for changes in the regulations governing the operation of ports and ends the labour monopoly enjoyed by the unions in the port sector; (ii) since legislative changes have meant that workers in the sector must come to terms with a new situation, an executive group for the modernization of the ports was set up to develop, implement and monitor a comprehensive modernization programme, one element of which is a government plan of action for the port sector whose objectives include that of strengthening the process of collective bargaining; (iii) the executive group for the modernization of the ports noted in its assessment of the labour situation in the ports that the process of collective bargaining requires a strengthening of the mediation and supervisory role of the public authorities, since flagrant abuses by both parties are to be found at some ports; (iv) in order to achieve the plan's objectives, a tripartite working group is to be set up to propose specific solutions; and (v) the Ministry of Labour will plan a number of initiatives to provide protection for workers in the port sector, and undertakes among other things to draw up a draft standard-setting instrument on labour relations in the port sector.

The Committee notes the Government's information. The Committee recalls that Convention No. 98 "should not in any way be interpreted as authorizing or prohibiting trade union security clauses and that such questions are matters for regulation in accordance with national law and practice" (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 205). The Committee observes furthermore that under the terms of Act No. 8630/93, a collective contract, accord or agreement takes precedence over decisions of the authority which is responsible among other things for the administration of labour supply in the port sector (section 18 of the Act). The Committee notes in this regard that according to the trade union organizations, employers in the sector refuse to enter into any collective labour agreement and that the Government acknowledges the existence of abuses by both parties in the port sector in the area of collective bargaining. Under these circumstances, noting also that the Government has taken note of deficiencies in the collective bargaining system in the port sector, the Committee requests the Government to take measures in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiations between employers or employers' organizations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements in the port sector, and hopes that this matter will be settled satisfactorily in the near future. The Committee also calls on the parties to act accordingly.