Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 359, March 2011

Case No 2470 (Brazil) - Complaint date: 01-DEC-05 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 22. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in March 2010, and on that occasion asked the Government to send information with respect to the refusal to recognize the National Trade Union Committee of Unilever Brazil and the establishment of a parallel body of workers’ representatives, as well as with respect to the new allegations that: (1) trade union official Mr José Santana de Lima has been subjected to harassment and received a verbal warning for absenting himself from the workplace in order to participate in a trade union activity; (2) the company is restricting and obstructing the taking of trade union leave by union officials; and (3) it is failing to comply with the collective agreement by not providing the union with documentation on industrial accidents [see 356th Report, paras 26–29].
2. 23. In its communication of August 2010, the Government sent a report from the enterprise Unilever in which the enterprise indicates, with regard to the alleged failure to recognize the National Trade Union Committee of Unilever Brazil, that legislation provides for a trade union structure comprised of confederations, federations and trade unions and does not provide for the existence of employees’ committees in factories or enterprises. It also indicates that it has 12 factories and dozens of distribution centres and it maintains relations with 15 different trade unions. The enterprise also indicates that it has 13,000 employees throughout Brazil and that the Unified Trade Union of Chemical Industry Workers (Vinhedo Region) represents only 3 per cent of the workers. Furthermore, the enterprise indicates that, taking into account its Code of Business Principles, it has established a dialogue and channels of communication with all legitimate workers’ representatives. With regard to the new allegations that have been presented, the enterprise indicates that: (1) with regard to trade union official Mr José Santana de Lima, he was dismissed on grounds of poor performance; the judicial authority considered that he did not have trade union immunity and the union suspended him from his duties until the end of his mandate; (2) with regard to the taking of trade union leave, there are 25 union officials in the enterprise and 70 per cent of them are afforded paid leave and those who are not benefiting from paid leave may take leave of absence from work to participate in trade union activities; and (3) with regard to the failure to comply with the collective agreement by not providing the union with documentation on industrial accidents, a workplace accident report is prepared for 100 per cent of the accidents that take place in the enterprise and the procedures to ensure that the trade unions have such reports are improving. In 2009, the enterprise invested 3.5 million Brazilian reals in the area of occupational health and safety and the accident rate is ten accidents per year for 12,300 workers.
3. 24. The Committee notes with interest this latest information.