Trade unions

Brazil is one of the top ten worst countries in the world for workers, with nearly 30% of workers involved in precarious employment. Regressive work laws and violence against union leaders have gained prominence in recent history.^[1] Union, peasant, and indigenous leaders have been threatened and, in some cases, murdered in response to their resistance to unjust working conditions, industrial agriculture and agribusiness.^[2]

In 2004, a national federation of trade unions (FETRAF-Brasil) was launched. It represents more than 50,000 family farmers and 600 unions at a municipal level. Collectively, they are working to secure the rights of smallholder farmers by focusing on land reform, improving working and living conditions of family farmers, securing employee rights, social policies, agrarian reform and gender and generational relations.^{[3] [4]}

Gender

In Brazil, employment discrimination against women, indigenous people, LGBTQI and people with disabilities remains high, despite labour laws and regulations prohibiting this discrimination. On average, women earn less than men and have more difficulty obtaining jobs. Only 56% of women in Brazil have paid jobs.^[5] In agriculture, the gender gap in access to land is very large, with less than 13% of farms run by women. Similarly, the average agricultural area worked by women is less than half the size of their male counterparts. This situation constrains women’s economic position and independence.^[6] In addition, sexual harassment of women and violence against LGBTQI individuals are a serious concern and laws are frequently not enforced.^[7]