The Giant with Feet of Clay: Rural Work as a Weak Link in Agribusiness in Times of Labor Reform

Abstract

This article analyzes the changes to rural labor relations and union practices pro-moted by Brazil’s 2017 Labor Reform. Labor rights and the unionization of rural workers were regulated in the 1960s and further improved in the decades that followed, notably in the 1988 Constitution. The study relies on the analysis of collective labor agreements and other documents, as well as interviews with union leaders from four agribusiness sectors from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The reforms have reduced the state’s power over labor relations while making contracts and working hours more flexible. Unions have partially lost their power over the mediation of labor relations and its corresponding revenue, whereas the content of collective agreements has gained relevance to the point of superseding the law at times. These changes are significant for rural work and unions in cutting-edge sectors of Brazilian agribusiness and still deserve more attention from scholars.