Abstract
The article analyzes the mechanisms and practices of collective bargaining and the extent of its results in Brazil. It seeks to close a gap in the specialized literature, which has not been taken it into account thus far. Common practice until the 1967 reform decreed by the military regime, extending collective agreements to third parties, absent from the bargaining, remains in force today, although with a minimal scope, not insignificant. Besides contributing specifically to the debate, this article also offers an alternative look at Brazil’s conventional literature on collective bargaining – according to which this mechanism to solve class conflict would have been suspended during the 1964 dictatorship, returning to the labor relations scene upon the emergence of the “new unionism” of the late 1970s. Furthermore, it shows how the Labor Court slowly “abdicated” its powers to mediate the conflict of interest between capital and labor, despite the many instruments available to protect diffuse and subjective rights, including human rights.
labor justice; collective bargaining; extension; 1988 constitution; Vargas era