LABOR REFORM AND ITS IMPACTS ON COLLECTIVE NEGOTIATIONS

Abstract

The 2017 Labor Reform significantly changed the panorama of collective negotiations in Brazil, promoting greater flexibility in labor standards. With the intention of modernizing labor relations, the reform resulted in a 16.8% drop in the number of collective instruments registered in 2018 compared to 2017. This scenario cannot be attributed solely to the economic crisis, as levels of trading remained stable in previous years of recession. In addition to the quantitative reduction, collective negotiations began to include more extensive employers' agendas, limiting the traditional demands of workers' unions. Thus, the reform not only weakened workers' negotiating capacity, but also changed the power dynamics in labor relations, compromising the rights achieved over the last decades. The impact of the reform suggests an ongoing challenge in protecting labor rights in an increasingly unequal environment.