Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Brazil (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes the Government’s reports of 2021 and 2024 as well the observations of the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT), received on 2 September 2021 and the Government’s response to these observations, received on 3 October 2021. The Committee also notes the observations of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), received on 14 August 2024 and asks the Government to provide its response thereto.

Active employment policy and human rights. The Committee notes that the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee (HRC), in its concluding observations on the third periodic report of Brazil, while welcoming different measures adopted by Brazil, expressed concerns, inter alia, about (i) the cuts in the budget for combating trafficking in persons and forced labour with a pattern close to slavery, the low levels of criminal prosecutions, the imposition of ineffective administrative penalties, the lack of provisions to ensure adequate and effective remedies and the temporary discontinuation of the “dirty lists” of companies profiting from slavery and forced labour; (ii) reports that the labour law reforms of 2017 restrict the rights of labour unions, while recommending the Government to revise the labour law reforms of 2017 in order to bring them into full compliance with international obligations (document CCPR/C/BRA/CO/3, 6 September 2023, paragraphs 43, 47, 59 and 60). The HRC considered that Brazil should consider ratifying the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ibid., 44 and 46). The Committee also notes that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), in its concluding observations on the third periodic report of Brazil, while noting different improvements performed by Brazil, expressed concerns, inter alia, about; (i) the high unemployment and underemployment rates among disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups in rural and peripheral areas; (ii) the large number of workers in the informal sector of the economy who are not covered by labour laws or the social protection system, in particular in rural and peripheral areas; (iii) that a large number of workers are exposed to poor working conditions, including excessive hours, low wages and limited employment security, and the lack of a comprehensive framework for occupational safety and health in relation to occupational accidents; (iv) reports of persistent exploitative practices, including internal trafficking in persons for the purpose of labour exploitation and forced and bonded labour, notably in peripheral and rural areas; (v) that labour law reforms introduced under Act No. 13.467 of 2017 could undermine the right to collective bargaining, and the reports of intimidation of, violence and discrimination against and even killings of trade union leaders and striking workers; and (vi) the prevalence of the worst forms of child labour and the involvement of children in hazardous economic activities (document E/C.12/BRA/CO/3, 15 November 2023, paragraphs 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 43). The Committee asks the Government to indicate how the above concerns are taken into consideration when applying or reviewing its active labour market policy, in consultation with the social partners, and keep the Office informed on any measures taken or envisaged in that regard.

Education and vocational training. Groups vulnerable to decent work deficits. Afro-Brazilians. The Committee notes that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in its concluding observations on Brazil’s combined eighteenth to twentieth periodic reports, welcomed measures to improve access to decent work. However, it expressed concerns about the persistent poverty among Afro-Brazilian, Indigenous, and Quilombola communities, and the exploitative and precarious conditions faced by Afro-Brazilian women, who make up the majority of domestic workers and often perform unpaid care work (CERD/C/BRA/CO/18-20, 19 December 2022, paragraphs 20 and 21).

Women. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to Law No. 14.542 of 3 April 2023, which amends Law No. 13.667 of 17 May 2018, to provide priority in assisting women in situations of domestic and family violence by the Brazilian National Employment System (SINE); and Law No. 14.457 of 21 July 2022, which establishes the Emprega + Mulheres Program and other amendments to the labour legislation to favour women. In this respect, the Committee notes in addition that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations on the combined eighth and ninth periodic reports of Brazil, while welcoming different measures adopted by the Government, noted with concern, inter alia: (a) the high unemployment and self-employment rates among women and their concentration in the informal economy; (b) that 70 per cent of women domestic workers are employed in the informal economy, without labour protection, despite the constitutional amendments guaranteeing them equal labour rights; (c) the disproportionate share of unpaid domestic, care and support responsibilities undertaken by women, in particular women of African descent and Indigenous women, preventing them from participating equally in the workforce and public life, as well as from having sufficient rest to maintain their well-being; (d) the gender pay gap of 21 per cent on average and 32 per cent in female- dominated sectors (such as health, education and social services); (e) the limited employment opportunities in the State party for women with disabilities, rural women, Indigenous women, Quilombola women, women of African descent, migrant women and lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women; (f) the high rates of sexual harassment in the workplace and the absence of legislation criminalizing sexual harassment in the workplace; and (g) that Brazil has not ratified the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), or the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), of the ILO (document CEDAW/C/BRA/CO/8-9, dated 6 June 2024, paragraph 32). In view of the above information, and referring to the new policies mentioned in its observation on employment promotion, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any specific measures taken with a view to increase the labour market participation rates of groups vulnerable to decent work deficits.

Labour reform of 2017 concerning teleworking. The CUT refers to a study performed by the University of Campinas, which concluded that the regulation on teleworking, Articles 75-D and 75-E of the Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT) as amended in 2017, allows uncontrolled working hours and without payment of overtime, in addition to assigning the cost of equipment to the worker and not protecting him of illnesses and accidents at work. It its response received in 2021, the Government considers that it is necessary to distinguish between teleworking that is the result of an option between employees and employers, and teleworking that is the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which workers were forced to adopt this form of work. For workers who want flexible working hours, working hours control will continue to be inconvenient, while for workers who require fixed working hours, it is currently a risk for the employer to adopt this control and not pay overtime. A project is being studied to modernise the legislation, including adjustments to provisions whose convenience was highlighted during the mass adoption of teleworking. Regarding the issue of health and safety at work, health and safety standards are also applicable to teleworking. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which Articles 75-D and 75-E of Law No. 13.467 are applied in practice, and to communicate any reform proposal of these provisions.

The More Doctors (Mais Médicos) Programme. With reference to the comments made in 2015 by the Trade Union of Pernambuco Doctors (SIMEPE) and the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), the Committee notes that, since 2022, there have been significant changes in the Mais Médicos program, particularly regarding the employment of Cuban doctors, in order to improve the program’s effectiveness and address previous criticisms about the disparity in pay between Cuban and Brazilian doctors. The Committee notes that the program is now named Mais Médicos para o Brasil, and that it has shifted its focus to prioritize Brazilian-trained doctors. The Committee understands that this change means that Cuban doctors, who were previously a significant part of the program, are no longer being hired under the same conditions and that the new format of the program does not allow Cuban doctors who remained in Brazil to be reassigned without validating their diplomas in the country. This change aims to ensure that all participating doctors meet the same professional standards and are compensated fairly (gov.br). The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the More Doctors Programme for Brazil, including statistical information disaggregated by nationality, on the number of participants, as well as information on the conditions afforded by the programme, including the amounts received in the form of remuneration, allowances, etc.

COVID-19 response measures. The Committee notes that Provisional Measures Nos 927 and 936, adopted in 2020, which responded to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through the reduction of wages or contract suspensions negotiated directly between the employer and the worker, as well as Provisional Measures Nos 1045 and 1046 of 2021, are no longer active.

Article 3. Consultations with the social partners. Consultations with representatives of the groups affected by the measures to be taken.Referring to the new Government policies and strategies on employment, the labour market and industrial development mentioned in its observation, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the consultations held for their formulation and implementation with the social partners and groups affected by these measures. In addition, referring to the 2021 observations made by the CUT reiterating its previous allegations that Law No. 13.467 introducing the Labour Reform and which impacts employment policy was adopted without prior consultation, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on consultations held in the framework of its implementation and periodic review with social partners and representatives of groups affected by this legislation so as to promote the objectives of the Convention.