CLT requires prior and express authorization from the worker for union fees

The decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to authorize the collection of the assistance fee from all workers comes up against the rule of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), which provides that the deduction of payroll contributions can only occur with prior authorization and expressed by the worker.

Article 611-B of the CLT, inserted in the 2017 labor reform, states that collective labor conventions or agreements cannot suppress or reduce certain workers’ rights. And one of them is precisely the “right not to suffer, without your express and prior consent, any salary charge or discount established in a collective convention or collective work agreement”.

Experts explain that, before 2017, the STF’s understanding was that the assistance contribution had a tax nature and, therefore, was mandatory even for non-unionized workers. With the labor reform (Law 13,467, of 2017), the contribution became optional for non-members, with the provisions of the CLT prevailing. Now, the STF has changed its understanding again.

In the assessment of Antônio Galvão Peres, PhD in Labor Law from USP and professor at the Brazilian Institute of Administrative Law (IBDA), the STF did not measure the effects of the decision, which does not define parameters for the charge. “The decision does not explain the rule in time, it does not explain how the opposition would occur”, he explains.

Since then, charges considered abusive have become public. Some unions have charged high percentages of the worker’s salary, making questions difficult and even demanding retroactive payment for the last five years.

For teachers, there is a real risk that unions will charge fees retroactively. Some entities included the assistance contribution in the rules of collective agreements that were approved in the assembly. As there was no obligation, companies did not discount other non-union workers. “The STF created a very controversial situation from now on,” he says.

Senate project tries to prevent charging without worker authorization

In a reaction to the STF’s interference in the Legislature, the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee approved on Tuesday (3) a bill (PL 2,099/23) that prevents unions from demanding payment of union dues without the employee’s authorization. The text by senator Styvenson Valentim (Podemos-RN) received a favorable report from senator Rogerio Marinho (PL-RN) and is sent to the Social Affairs Committee.

The project provides that the worker, even if a member, must previously and expressly authorize the deduction, from his salary, of contributions to trade unions in the economic or professional category. The statement must be in writing and with a copy to the employer. Union and contractor must file the application for at least five years.

If the PL is approved by Congress and then sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), it is prohibited to send a bill or payment guide to the employee’s residence or to the company’s headquarters, if the worker has already exercised his right to not pay. In case of disobedience, the union is subject to a fine.