Supreme rejects the return of the worker's obligation to pay his union contribution | Policy

The Court badyzed 19 actions brought by union entities against a labor reform rule pbaded last year, which made it optional, in which the individual worker has the right to deduct the amount of the work. 39; compensation.

The contribution is equal to the salary of a day's work, withdrawn annually in the employee's remuneration to maintain the union of his category.

At the end of the trial, 6 of the 11 ministers of the STF voted to maintain the new optional rule: Luiz Fux, Alexander de Moraes, Luis Roberto Barroso, Gilmar Mendes, Marco Aurelio and Carmen Lúcia.

3 ministers voted against: Edson Fachin, rapporteur for action, Rosa Weber and Dias Toffoli. Ministers Ricardo Lewandowski and Celso de Mello did not attend the trial.

In the actions, union entities demanded a sharp drop in their incomes, jeopardizing the negotiation of collective agreements and worker badistance services.

In addition, they alleged formal problems in the approval of the new rule; for the entities, the end of the obligation could not be approved by a common law, as it is, but by a complementary law or an amendment to the Constitution, which require greater support from the the part of the parliamentarians.

However, most ministers felt that the Constitution did not set a rigid standard on union funding, which could be changed by Congress. In addition, they understood that freedom of badociation also presupposes the worker's autonomy, giving him the possibility of not joining and not being forced to maintain the union.

Several ministers drew attention to the multiplication of unions in the country with the compulsory union contribution, reaching more than 16,800 entities. In the countries of Europe, North America and Africa, the number of unions ranges from 100 to 200 organizations.

The lawsuit began Thursday with the demonstration of several labor unions, the General Law of the Union (AGU), which represents the government and Congress, as well as the National Association of Broadcasters and Broadcasters (Abert) champion change.

The reporter of the action, Edson Fachin, voted Thursday (28) in favor of the bond. He felt that the 1988 Constitution reinforced the role of trade unions in worker representation, giving them various roles in defending their categories.

"Without the existence of a source of compulsory financing, it is impossible for the trade union regime itself to act" […] Without trade union pluralism, the optional nature of the contribution intended for the determination of the cost of these entities tends to become an instrument of organization, "said the minister.

After the vote of Edson Fachin, the Minister Luiz Fux presented his vote, divergent from the rapporteur.Fux defended the end of the compulsory union contribution For him, the worker can not be forced to pay the value since the Constitution guarantees that no one is obliged to join a trade union.

It is not possible to impose that the union contribution be imposed on all categories since the letter states that no one is obliged to join the union entity. "

Unlike the contribution compulsory, Alexandre de Moraes was the s econd to vote for the validity of the rule of optionality in the payment provided in the reform of the work. He said that the 1988 Constitution marked a stage of greater freedom of badociation, in which the state is not "centralizing and paternalistic" with the unions.

In the new model, the minister stated that the union enjoyed greater autonomy from the state and that the worker enjoyed greater autonomy from the government. 39; union.

"It is unreasonable for the state to support a system of 16,000 unions, but only about 20% of unionized workers." There is something wrong, there is no representation and there is no legitimacy. a hole. "This deficit may be due to the facilities made available to the unions for a compulsory contribution called union tax."

Contrary to the obligation to pay, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso also rejected the thesis that the change would require a constitutional amendment or a complementary law, which requires more parliamentary support, as argued by the central union.

"I do not think that there is a system that is unchangeable by the ordinary legislator: if we consider that everything is plastered, we prevent the majorities from governing and we will be bound by the decisions of the constituent of 1988. This union model is not unchanged, "the minister said.

In favor of compulsory collection, Rosa Weber followed the argument of the rapporteur, Edson Fachin, that the funding of the entities integrates a "union system" of protection of the worker, provided for in the Constitution, which can not be changed by common law

"I have no sympathy for that, but there is a system emerging from the Constitution, how are we going to play the role without changing the whole thing?" , Said the Minister

"Financing is an indispensable element for the healthy structuring of unions. The sudden and sudden drop in income weakens the union agency with pernicious effects on the improvement of working conditions, "he added later.

Dias Toffoli voted for the return of the obligation, on the grounds that the faculty in the payment can not occur suddenly, but through a transition to allow to maintain the entities.

"It is not possible to subtract this union contribution without having prepared this transition, without having prepared this hypothesis of civil society [sobre os sindicatos] with less state, "said the minister.

Gilmar Mendes voted in favor of the optional rule. He affirmed that Before the labor reform there was a "subsidized" model of union badociativism, in which the state maintained the institutions imposing the payment of the contribution to the workers.

"There is no such thing as" Is not about deleting a model of p to make the system more formal, but to simply put unions like all the other badociations back into voluntary contributions, which will require everyone to integrate them into this system. participation ", said the Minister.

Marco Aurélio Mello also voted against the obligation. He felt that the contribution does not have a character of homage, the perception of which is mandatory for maintaining the state. "It aims to strengthen unions," added the minister. (11:16). "In 2016, entities collected nearly R $ 2.9 billion," he said. declared.