2023-09-02 01:50:50
© Reuters. STF Minister Gilmar Mendes 02/03/2023 REUTERS/Rodrigo Antunes
By Ricardo Brito
BRASÍLIA (Reuters) – The ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) formed a majority this Friday to allow the adoption of an assistance contribution to all employees of a certain category, whether they are union members or not, at a time when members of the government Lula defend the resumption of some kind of financial support to the unions.
The majority position occurred during the judgment by the virtual plenary of an appeal filed by the Metallurgical Union of Curitiba that had contested the 2017 decision of the STF that reaffirmed the illegality of this type of compulsory contribution.
That year, then-president Michel Temer sanctioned the labor reform approved by the National Congress that had extinguished the union tax.
The majority for the Supreme was formed with the vote-view of Minister Alexandre de Moraes. So far, Justices Gilmar Mendes, Luís Roberto Barroso, Cármen Lúcia, Edson Fachin and Dias Toffoli have voted to accept the appeal.
For now, the winning thesis, based on the vote of rapporteur Gilmar Mendes, is as follows: “It is constitutional to establish, by collective agreement or convention, welfare contributions to be imposed on all employees in the category, even if they are not unionized, provided that the right of opposition is guaranteed”.
The judgment by the virtual plenary of the STF, in which there is no public discussion and the votes are presented in an electronic system, will run until the next 11th. common plenary, which would restart the trial entirely.
Trade unions are a strong support base for the government and lost a lot of strength and influence with the end of the funding they had after the labor reform.
Despite the discussion by members of the government about some kind of aid to unions, the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), was already adamant when he said that he will not accept any kind of setback on the subject.
Labor lawyer Pedro Maciel said that the repeal of mandatory union dues, as part of the labor reform, demanded that unions become more active in defending workers’ rights. He pointed out that the issue is that a new problem would be created if the Supreme Court decided that only union members would be entitled to the benefits stipulated by collective agreements.
“We would have situations in which workers in the same company, performing the same functions, with the same experience and location, would receive different wages and different benefits”, he said.
“My interpretation of the STF decision is that it seeks to promote the appreciation of collective bargaining, preserving its effectiveness. Otherwise, there would be no incentive for workers to contribute to the union, since everyone would receive the same benefits regardless of their contribution” , reinforced him, who is a partner at Advocacia Maciel.
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