1
UNION MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN BRAZILIAN PUBLIC
SETOR IN THE 2000s
Walter Arno Pichler1 - Brazil
Giovana Menegotto – Brazil
Summary
This paper aims at describing the trends of union membership and of the strike
movement in Brazil during the 2000s. The focus is placed on the evolution of the
stoppages – measured both by the annual amount of strike and by the working hours lost
due to stoppages – in the public sector. In recent years union membership went into an
overall decline whereas the amount of strikes and, especially, the amount of working
days lost, soared, particularly in the public sphere. One of the sources of evidence used
is the annual households’ survey, called Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios
(PNAD), from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasieiro de
Geografia e Estatística – IBGE). The other source is System of Strike Monitoring
(Sistema de Acompanhamento de Greves – SAG) set up by the Department of Inter
Union Statistics and Social and Economic Studies (Departamento Intersindical de
Estatística e Estudos Sócio-Econômicos – DIEESE).
The turn of the millennium brought great challenges for the trade union
movement in most industrialized countries. Economic and political factors negatively
affected the general trend of unionization (BAMBER, Lansbury and Wailes, 2004;
CHECCHI and Visser, 2005; JOSE, 2002; LAWRENCE and ISHIKAWA, 2005 and
others).
The decline in the levels of union membership is associated to globalization, to
the introduction of neoliberal economic policies, to the introduction of flexibility in the
labor market, to the international financial crisis and rising unemployment, as well as to
technological changes and its implications on the structure of employment and
composition of the workforce. In the traditional economic activities (such as the
1
Economist e sociologist, researcher of the Fundação de Economia e Estatística (FEE), PhD in Industrial Relations,
The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. E-mail: walter@fee.tche.br
2
Manufacturing Industry and Construction) predominated male employment, yet in new
occupations and productive segments there is a growing female presence. This context
also led to a decrease in the intensity of the strike movement in most OECD countries
(http://www.oecdilibrary.org/docserver/download/8107021e.pdf?expires=1394822182&id=id&accname=
guest&checksum=1EAE1249081F3200BC3285F0969873B6). According to this source,
the amount and intensity of work stoppages fell by half between 1980-1984 and 20002004 in most industrialized countries. In the case of the U.S., for example, the amount
of stoppages involving 1000 or more workers fell from 270 in 1947, to only 15 in 2013
–
which
represents
5,5%
of
the
whole
amount
of
the
1947
(http://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkstp.t01.htm).
The decline in unionization rates cannot be generalized. Union density dropped
in countries like the USA, France, UK and Australia, while in other countries, it rose or
remained relatively stable, as in the case of Sweden and Canada (Lawrence and
Ishikawa, 2005). Moreover, union affiliation fell in the manufacturing industry, whereas
in the service sector it experienced a growth (LAWRENCE and ISHIKAWA, 2005).
Therefore we can claim that unionization had divergent trends in different countries and
even in different sectors of economic activity.
In Brazil unionization rates experienced a small decline during the 1990s, yet
between 2000 and 2006 this trend was reversed (Pichler 2009), and again a new decline
is noticeable since the end of the last decade. The description of this aspect is one of the
aims of this paper.
With regard to the level of conflict in labour relations, expressed in the strike
movement, the literature also points out a number of factors that may explain the
retrogression in strike activity in most industrialized countries in the 90s and early
2000s (OECD (2007). Among them are structural changes in employment - such as
reduction of the manufacturing industry and the rise of jobs in the service sector. But
this factor does not explain alone everything since there is evidence of decline in the
strike movement both in the industrial sector and in the tertiary sector.
The general aim of this paper is to examine the moves in union membership,
union density and in the strike movement in Brazil between 2002 and 2012, a period
marked with significant changes in the broader environment, and, in particular, in the
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economy and in industrial relations. The last decade was characterized by high rate of
growth of the GDP, by an increase of exports, by a significant reduction of
unemployment rates, increase of formal employment, increase of wages and reduction
of inequalities. From the political point of view, the decade was marked by the rise of
the Workers Party to power, firstly with the President Lula government (from 2003 to
2010) and since 2011 with President Dilma Rousseff.
The paper starts with methodological remarks and definitions. The second
section is concerned with the description of the situation and the recent evolution of
union density in Brazil over the period under consideration. The third section sheds
light on the current situation and the moves of the strike movement over time and the
final section points out the main findings of the research.
METHODOLOGICAL REMARKS AND DEFINITIONS
Unions are elements of an industrial relations system. The term system refers to
a comprehensive totality of interrelated institutional structures and interdependent
behaviours (Dunlop, 1993; KAUFMAN 2004). The concept of labour relations is
defined, by Kaufman (2004), as all behaviours, products, practices and institutions that
emanate from - and that affect - employment. This includes the production process, the
employment relation and a set of social institutions such as the labour market, the
product market, the organizations that include and coordinate the production process,
and collective actors. The study of labour relations, also includes elements that affect
this type of social interaction, such as: the general social aspects (culture, social class,
ethics, ideologies and historical aspects); science and technology; the nation-state; and
rules that define the relationships among the social actors.
Trade unions, the organizations that represent the interests of employers and
employees, are among the main institutions - besides firms and markets – of an
industrial relations system. These entities develop collective actions, in order to further
their interests, and play an important role in establishing the rules governing labour
relations, mainly through collective bargaining (Beaumont, 1990; DUNLOP 1993;
SALAMON 1998).
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The expression ‘trade union’ (in Portuguese ‘sindicato’) is here defined
according to the Brazilian labour legislation2. ‘Sindicatos’ are “all those associations
organised with the aim to study, to defend, and to coordinate the economic and
professional interests of all those that, as employers, as employees, as autonomous
agents or workers, and as liberal professionals exert, respectively, the same activities
and professions or similar, connected trades and professions”3.
Union membership and union density indicate the size of workers’ organizations
and the relative power of unions in society, respectively (Salamon 1998). Union density
is defined as union affiliation in relation to the potential number of union members. In
this paper I use the expression union density in the sense of net density, which is
calculated by dividing total union membership by the total number in the workforce
(Lawrence and Ishikawa, 2005: 4). Workforce refers to the number of employees (or
wage earners) in a defined geographic area.
Strike is a type of industrial conflict. It is defined as a temporary suspension of
working arrangements which is initiated unilaterally by employees – through their union
or not – or by management with the objective of exerting pressure with the view of
determining employment conditions (Salamon, 1998). The indicators of the impact of
strike activity (or industrial action) in society – the indicators of this variable used in
this research - are the number of strikes and the amount of working hours lost due to
strikes.
One of the sources of evidence used in this research is the annual households’
survey, called Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD), which is carried
out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasieiro de
Geografia e Estatística – IBGE), one of the most important official research institutions
of the Brazilian federal government. The other source is System of Strike Monitoring
(Sistema de Acompanhamento de Greves – SAG) set up by the Department of Inter
Union Statistics and Social and Economic Studies (Departamento Intersindical de
2
For further reading on characteristics and recent changes in the Brazilian trade union organization see
Pichler (2007). For a brief historical review on trade unions in Brazil, on the practice of collective
bargaining, and on broader characteristics and changes in the Brazilian industrial relations system see
Pichler (2005).
3
“É lícita toda a associação para fins de estudos, defesa e coordenação de interesses econômicos e
profissionais de todos os que, como empregadores, empregados, agentes ou trabalhadores autônomos,
ou profissionais liberais, exerçam, respectivamente, a mesma atividade ou profissão, ou atividades ou
profissões similares ou conexas” (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho, Art. 511).
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Estatística e Estudos Sócio-Econômicos – DIEESE), the most important union advisory
agency in the country. The time series begins in 2002 because this is the first year for
which comparable union data is available, and ends in 2012 because it is the last
information reported by IBGE.
UNION MEMBERSHIP AND UNION DENSITY IN BRAZIL
There is evidence that, in Brazil, 19.1% of whole amount of employees was
affiliated to labour unions in 2012 (Graph 1)4. This figure is above the average union
density registered in the OECD countries in the same year - which reached 17.0%.
Among the countries where the rates were higher than the national one were Sweden
(67.5%) and Norway (54.7%). In turn, among the nations where unionization rates were
lower than those recorded in Brazil were the United States (11.1%) and Mexico (13.6%)
(site: http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=STLABOUR).
Comparing Brazil with other countries of the BRIC groups we can see that
Brazilian union density was much lower than China’s - in which, in 2007, was
approximately 65.9% (DONGTAO, 2010) -, as well as South Africa’s that, in 2010,
amounted to 29.7% (www.ilo.org / ilostat). Finally, in the MERCOSUR group,
Brazilian unionization levels were higher than those of Paraguay and Chile - 7.2%
(2011) and 17.1% (2010) respectively -, but lower than Argentina’s and Uruguay’s 40.3% (2008) and 28.8% (2010) respectively (www.ilo.org/ilostat).
Figure 1: Union density in Brazil and in OCDE countries, 2002-2012
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In 2012 in Brazil there were around 95 million employees (or wage earners) and around 16
million union affiliates. The number of unions amounted to 15 thousand in 2013, and the
number
of
union
confederations
amounted
to
05
in
2012
http://oglobo.globo.com/economia/com-mais-de-250-novos-sindicatos-por-ano-brasil-ja-temmais-de-15-mil-entidades-8237463;
http://www.cnmcut.org.br/conteudo/cai-o-numero-decentrais-sindicais-reconhecidas-pelo-governo.
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Sources: PNAD-IBGE; http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=STLABOUR
As regards to the moves of the overall unionization rate through time we can see
that the index - among the category of employees - experienced a diminution of 1.7
percentage points between 2002 and 2012, ranging from 20.8% to 19.1% (Figure 1). A
closer observation of the chart reveals, however, two clear phases of evolution during
this period. The first happened between 2002 and 2006, the years during which the
participation of employees in union increased 1.8 percentage points, reaching, in 2006,
22.6% of the whole amount of employees in Brazil. The second phase occurred between
2007 and 2009, a phase during which the union density remained relatively stable, and
the third from 2009 onwards. The latter phase is marked by the international financial
crisis, which slowed the rate growth of the GDP of the country - in 2009 it experienced
a negative growth of minus 0.3% - negatively affecting the labour market and unions.
This slow down considerably affected unionization rates, which diminished, in 2012,
3.2 percentage points in relation to 2009.
It is too early to speculate on the future trend of the rate of unionization in
Brazil. The question is whether or not henceforth it will follow the downward trends of
the OCDE countries. Figure 1 shows that the national indicators did not keep pace,
during most of the years, union density figures observed in this block of countries. In
Brazil the decline started only from 2009 onwards, whereas in the OECD area, the fact
has been occurring since the beginning of the period.
Summing up, evidence shows that during the period under consideration
unionization (or density rates) varied considerably. Throughout the first half of the time
series - which coincided with the rise to power of Workers Party and the Lula
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government - Brazilian overall figures entered in a phase of growth – while in many of
the most industrialized countries the rates declined. In other words, during these years
Brazilian unions became stronger, while in most or the rest of the world they became
weaker. In contrast, during the second half unionization rates stabilized and then (after
2009) they entered into retrogression. This move coincided with the end of the Lula era
and the rise of Dilma government.
CURRENT SITUATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE STRIKE
MOVEMENT
The Brazilian strike movement has considerably expanded during this century.
In 2012 there were recorded 873 strikes, the highest number since 2002. According to
DIEESE, in this year the stoppages accounted for 381.7 million working-hours lost
(Table 2).
The number of strikes nearly tripled between 2002 (298 strikes) and 2012 (873)
while the number of working-hour lost more than tripled in the same period. According
to DIEESE’s estimates, in 2002 working-hours lost due to strikes amounted to around
116.6 million while in 2012 around 381.7 million.
The Brazilian strike movement gained momentum in the end of the last decade,
during the same period during which union density rates entered in decline. Between
2002 and 2007 the number of strikes has remained relatively stable, while the workinghours lost, after a peak in 2003, tended to decrease (see Table 2 and Figure 3). The
intensification of the movement occurred after 2008, after the outbreak of the great
international financial crisis. Between 2009 and 2012 the number of strikes increased by
68.5%, while the working-hours lost by 200.4%. The fact that the whole amount of
working hours lost raised more than the number of strikes indicates that the stoppages
not only increased in number but also in their political importance and its economic
impact on. In other words, Brazilian industrial relations became more conflictive at the
end of Lula government and, especially, during the Dilma Roussef period.
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Table 2: Number of strikes and number of working hours lost, Brazil, 2002-2012
Year
Number of strikes
Number of working-hors lost
2002
298
116.620.512
2003
340
340.954.860
2004
302
150.484.289
2005
299
230.604.495
2006
320
183.776.042
2007
316
237.156.516
2008
411
143.432.937
2009
518
127.030.961
2010
445
264.929.771
2011
554
341.761.660
2012
873
381.662.820
SOURCE: SAIS/SAG-DIEESE.
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Figure 3: Evolution of the index number of strikes and of working hours lost in
Brazil, 2002-2012
350.0
300.0
250.0
200.0
150.0
100.0
50.0
2002
2003
2004
2005
Nº de greves
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Trabalhadores-Horas paradas
Source: SAIS/SAG-DIEESE.
Note: Index Number Fixed Base: 2002 = 100.
Analysing strike data from economic sectors perspective, we can see that public
servants (federal, regional state and municipal level employees) were the most active
during the period (Chart 8). This group accounted for 45.3% of whole amount of strikes
recorded in the country. Within this set stand out the regional state civil service - with
20.2% of total strikes in the period - and the municipal civil service - 18 9%. Workers of
the Manufacturing Industry accounted for 29.9% of the total, and the Services Sector for
22.9%. Workers of Commerce, the Rural Areas and Multi-sectorial strikes had little
expression.
Figure 4: Percentage of strikes and of working-hours lost, per sector, Brazil, 2002-2012
SOURCE: SAIS/SAG-DIEESE.
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Public servants not only dominated the scene in relation to the number of strikes,
but could also be accounted for the largest political and economic impact in the country.
Between 2002 and 2012 the number of working-hour lost due to the action led by this
category of employees reached 77.7% of the total. Within this group stands out the
importance of the regional state public sector, which accounted for 41.6% of the overall
total, as well as the federal public sector, with 31.2% of the total. Despite having led a
relatively high number of stoppages, municipal workers had a relatively modest impact
on total amount of working-hours lost (4.9%).
Within the federal government stands out the strikes led by the employees of the
Executive Branch – responsible for 52.9% of the total working-hour lost due to the
action of this subgroup –, the employees of the Federal Public Schools (34.7%) and
those of the Federal Judiciary (9.5 %). Together, these three categories accounted for
almost the whole amount of working-hours lost recorded by this group (97.2%).
The Manufacturing Industry, despite being one of the groups with the highest
incidence in the number of strikes during the period (about 30%) reported only 10.6%
of the total working-hour lost. Within this group stand out the Construction and
Furniture industry - with 82.2% of the total working-hours lost - and the Engineering
Industry - with 12.9%. These two subgroups accounted for 95% of the total
Manufacturing Industry.
Finally, the Services sector, which alone accounted for the second highest
number of strikes in the period, had an impact similar to the Manufacturing Industry 10.8% of all workers-hour charts. In this sector the most active categories were the
workers of Banking establishments and and those of the Private Insurance and
Capitalization – which accounted for 64.8% of total working-hours lost within this
subgroup -, and employees of the Communication, Advertising Journalistic enterprises
(19.9%). Other sectors of productive activity distinguished here had very little impact
on the economy and society in the period.
FINAL REMARKS
This study concludes that the unionization rates in Brazil increased in the first
part of the last decade, remained relatively stable between 2007 and 2009, and entered
in decline since then. This evolution contrasts with the trends of trade union density
observed in the area of OECD countries, which has experienced a persistent tendency of
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decline ever since 2002. The research also concludes that the Brazilian strike movement
remained relatively stable and was characterised by low intensity between 2002 and
2008. After then the stoppages entered in a phase of rapid increase.
The question is what are the factors that have triggered the strikes in the public
sector. One of the hypothesis is that the unrest of civil servants was due, firstly, to the
freeze of wages in the public sector imposed by Dilma Rousseff government and,
secondly, due to the reform introduced in the official social security system.
Finally, the study shows that the strike movement that had a larger impact in
society - indicated by the whole amount of working-hour lost - were nationwide strikes.
Regarding the data from the sectorial point of view, we can see that the strikes led by
the civil servants were those that had the strongest economic and political impact in
Brazilian labour relations during the period. This category led strikes that accounted for
about 80% of the total working-hour lost in the country. This group includes workers of
the National Executive branch, of the Federal Public Education Network, and of the
Judiciary - the former three were the most active categories in nationwide strikes. The
civil servants group also includes workers of the State Public Education Network, those
of the Health System Network, as well as those of the Municipal Education Network.
The stoppages led by workers of the Engineering Industry and of the Construction and
Furniture industry had a minor or just regional impact.
As regards to the causes of the strikes in the public sphere, in 2012 the claims of
defensive nature – in 73% of the cases. Most of the issues were about the breach of
rights (52%). In the private sphere there was greater equivalence between the proportion
of propositional claims and defensive claims. The protest strikes were more intense in
the public sphere rather than in the private sector (Dieese 2013). An overall view shows
that, in the 2000s, strikes were characterized by the predominance of claims of a
propositional nature, in contrast to what occurred in the previous decade. The changing
mood could be due to the resumption of economic growth and the consequent reduction
in the unemployment rates. In recent years however we had a resumption of strikes of a
defensive character.
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