Countries › Brazil › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Unions, collective bargaining and strikes in Brazil

Unions, collective bargaining and strikes in Brazil

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Brazil keeps a single union per category and territory, and every company is covered by the collective convention of its employees' category, which often sets wage floors, annual raises and benefits above the law. Since 2017 collective agreements prevail over the law on listed subjects such as hours banks, breaks and profit sharing, company agreements prevail over sector conventions, instruments last at most 2 years with no automatic extension, and union dues need the worker's prior express authorization. The Supreme Court allows assistance contributions for all workers of a category if they can opt out; strikes need 48 hours' notice, or 72 hours in essential services, and strikers cannot be replaced or dismissed.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.5007 per US dollar for 26 October 2026, the last business day before verification. The real moved sharply that day (R$5.0377 on 23 October), so conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Single union per category and territory	Yes, territory at least one municipality CF art. 8, II, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Mandatory union dues	No, deduction needs prior express authorization CLT arts. 578 and 579, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Assistance contribution for non members	Allowed by collective instrument with right to object STF Tema 935, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum term of a collective agreement or convention	2 yearsCLT art. 614 § 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Expired collective instruments stay in force	No, prohibited CLT art. 614 § 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Company agreement prevails over sector convention	Yes CLT art. 620, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Headcount above which an employee representation committee is required	200 employeesCLT art. 510-A, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Strike notice to the employer	48 hoursLei nº 7.783 art. 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Strike notice in essential services	72 hoursLei nº 7.783 art. 13, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Hiring replacements during a lawful strike	No, except to protect equipment or if abusive Lei nº 7.783 arts. 7, 9 and 14, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Union association is free, with no state authorization for founding a union beyond registration, but only one union may represent a professional or economic category in the same territorial base, which may not be smaller than a municipality. No one is obliged to join or remain in a union, unions must take part in collective bargaining, and unionized employees are protected from dismissal from registration of their candidacy for union office until 1 year after the end of the term, if elected, except for serious misconduct.
Cost to do it: No fee; identify the employee and employer unions for each establishment and category.Constituição Federal of 5 October 1988, Art. 8, I, II, V, VI and VIII, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. A collective convention is an agreement between unions representing the employee and employer categories; a collective agreement is signed directly between the employee union and one or more companies. Unions and companies may not refuse to negotiate when asked. Instruments must be deposited for registration within 8 days of signing and take effect 3 days after deposit.
Cost to do it: Negotiation and legal advisory cost; registration is done electronically with the labor ministry.CLT arts. 611, 614 and 616, as worded by Decreto-Lei nº 229 of 28 February 1967, CLT art. 611 caput and § 1; art. 614 caput; art. 616, 1967-02-28 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Collective conventions and agreements prevail over the law when they deal with listed subjects, including working hours within constitutional limits, an annual hours bank, a meal break of at least 30 minutes for shifts over 6 hours, career and pay plans, company rules, workplace representatives, remote work, on call and intermittent work, productivity and performance pay, the method of recording hours, swapping holidays, the grade of unhealthy work, prizes and profit sharing. Clauses that reduce pay or hours must protect employees from unjustified dismissal during the instrument's term, and the absence of express reciprocal concessions does not void the agreement.
Cost to do it: No fee; the gain is flexibility on hours and pay design.CLT art. 611-A inserted by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017, CLT art. 611-A, I to XV and §§ 1 to 5, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Collective instruments may not suppress or reduce listed rights, including the minimum wage, FGTS deposits and fine, the 13th salary, the number of vacation days and the one third vacation bonus, the 50 percent overtime premium, maternity leave of at least 120 days, notice of at least 30 days, paternity leave, the right to strike and freedom of association, including the ban on charging union dues without express prior consent.
Cost to do it: Clauses breaching art. 611-B are void and the underlying right remains due.CLT art. 611-B inserted by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017, CLT art. 611-B, III, V, X, XI, XII, XIII, XVI and XXVI, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. The Federal Supreme Court held that collective agreements and conventions that limit or remove labor rights are constitutional, even without specific compensating advantages, provided absolutely unavailable rights are respected.
Cost to do it: No fee; supports enforceability of negotiated trade offs.Supremo Tribunal Federal, ARE 1.121.633 (Tema 1046), judged 2 June 2022, final 9 May 2023, Tema 1046 thesis, 2022-06-02 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Company level collective agreements always prevail over sector conventions. Neither may last more than 2 years, and ultra activity (keeping an expired instrument in force until a new one is signed) is prohibited.
Cost to do it: Plan renegotiation before expiry; benefits in an expired instrument are no longer binding by default.CLT art. 620 and art. 614 § 3 as worded by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017, CLT arts. 614 § 3 and 620, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. Union contributions may be charged and deducted from pay only with the worker's prior and express authorization; the employer deducts authorized contributions from March payroll and remits them by the 10th day after deduction.
Cost to do it: Payroll processing only; remitting late carries 10 percent interest under art. 545 sole paragraph.CLT arts. 545, 578, 579 and 582 as worded by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017, CLT arts. 545, 578, 579 and 582, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017 ended the mandatory union tax; deduction now requires prior express authorization.

8. Collective agreements or conventions may create assistance contributions charged to all employees of the category, including non members, provided the right to object is guaranteed. In later rulings published in December 2025 the court barred retroactive charging, barred third parties (employers included) from interfering with the right to object, and required amounts to be reasonable, compatible with the category's economic capacity and set transparently in an assembly.
Cost to do it: Amounts set by assembly; the employer deducts them from non objecting employees as the instrument provides.Supremo Tribunal Federal, ARE 1.018.459 (Tema 935), embargos judged 11 September 2023; second embargos, merits judgment published 9 December 2025, Tema 935 thesis, 2023-09-11 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: In decisions published in December 2025 the Supreme Court barred retroactive charging of assistance contributions and protected the right to object from employer or union interference.

9. Companies with more than 200 employees must hold elections for an employee representation committee: 3 members for 200 to 3,000 employees, 5 for 3,001 to 5,000 and 7 for more than 5,000, with separate committees per state. Members serve 1 year terms and are protected from arbitrary dismissal from candidacy until 1 year after the term.
Cost to do it: Election organization and paid time of members; dismissal protection for members.CLT arts. 510-A to 510-D inserted by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017, CLT arts. 510-A §§ 1 and 2; 510-C; 510-D and § 3, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27

10. Workers decide when to strike; a strike is lawful only after negotiation fails or arbitration is impossible, with at least 48 hours' notice to the employer (72 hours to employers and users in essential services such as water, energy, health, transport, telecommunications and bank clearing, where minimum services must be maintained). During a lawful strike the contract is suspended and the employer may neither dismiss strikers nor hire replacements, except to prevent irreversible damage to equipment or when the strike is abusive.
Cost to do it: Lost production; wages for strike days follow the agreement or labor court decision.Lei nº 7.783 of 28 June 1989, Arts. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14, 1989-06-28 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Can prevail over the law	Cannot be reduced
Working hours within constitutional limits	Minimum wage
Annual hours bank	FGTS deposits and fine
Meal break down to 30 minutes for shifts over 6 hours	13th salary
Remote, on call and intermittent work rules	Vacation days and one third bonus
Productivity pay, prizes and profit sharing	50 percent overtime premium
Grade of unhealthy work	Maternity leave of 120 days and notice of 30 days
Method of recording hours	Union dues without express prior consent

What a collective instrument can and cannot change (CLT arts. 611-A and 611-B).

Worked example

Suppose a foreign company opening a plant in Minas Gerais is covered by a regional metalworkers' convention that sets a floor above the national minimum wage and an annual raise. It negotiates a company collective agreement with the same union that adds a 12 month hours bank and a 30 minute meal break; under CLT art. 620 that agreement prevails over the sector convention for its plant, for at most 2 years.

Step by step

Identify the employee union and employer union for each category and municipality where you hire.
Obtain the current collective convention and diary its renewal date (data-base) and expiry.
Map clauses on floors, raises, benefits, hours and contributions into payroll.
Consider a company collective agreement for hours banks, shifts or profit sharing; deposit it within 8 days of signing.
Collect written authorizations before deducting any union dues; respect objection windows for assistance contributions.
Above 200 employees, organize the employee representation committee election.

Common traps

Assuming the national minimum wage applies when the category's convention sets a higher floor.
Deducting union dues without prior express authorization breaches CLT arts. 579 and 611-B, XXVI.
Employers may not pressure workers to object, or not to object, to assistance contributions (Tema 935, December 2025 ruling).
An expired collective agreement does not stay in force automatically; plan renewal before expiry.
Replacing strikers during a lawful strike violates Lei nº 7.783 art. 7.

Sources

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