New contribution to unions should generate an increase in lawsuits

The compulsory assistance contribution for non-unionized workers, which should be analyzed by the Federal Supreme Court next week, may lead to an increase in lawsuits, says Luiz Alberto Meirelles de Azevedo, from De Vivo Castro, Cunha e Whitaker Advogados.

The STF judgment had been interrupted in April by a request for a review by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The current score is five votes in favor of charging, that is, the Supreme Court is one vote away from forming a majority.

Experts believe that the collection goes against the spirit of the labor reform, which vetoed the compulsory collection of union contributions that do not have prior authorization from the worker. The understanding of the ministers, so far, has been to allow charging, subject to the “right of opposition”, that is, that workers can opt for non-taxation.

For Azevedo, the right to opposition, in practice, does not exist, because the appeal criteria are determined by the unions themselves and do not “meet the principles of reasonableness”.

According to him, they are usually short deadlines, with unenforceable requirements, and there are cases in which they ask for a letter signed in their own hand, filed personally on a day and at an appointed time. “Everything to make the exemption process difficult for workers who do not agree with the taxation”, he says.