Collective bargaining and the possibilities to intervene in health risk situations at work

Abstract Introduction: this paper accounts for collective bargaining as a political process in which differing and unequal social actors define parameters for work relations. Objective: to discuss the possibilities and limits of collective bargaining for modifying situations of workers’ health risks, considering its social, political and economical aspects. Methods: we analyze collective bargaining related to workers’ health in Brazil, including subjects like tecnological innovation, intensity, moral organizational harassment, and home office. We verified collective agreements negotiated between 2010 and 2014 recorded on the Sistema de Acompanhamento de Contratações Coletivas do Departamento Intersindical de Estatística e Estudos Socio-econômicos (Sacc-Dieese). Analysis of studies based on Sacc-Dieese were conducted between 2010 and 2012, whereas direct access to this system was used for the period between 2013 and 2014. Results: although innovative clauses have been found, most clauses reproduce parameters established by law, which are limited in modifying conditions that lead to sickness. Conclusion: the approval of Law No. 13.467/2017, called “Brazil Labor Reform”, under the false premise of agreements between “equals”, can result in the deconstruction of social protection laws and the underestimation of health risks and human suffering.