Initiative brings together social organizations, municipal associations, syndical centers and parliamentary fronts to make Brazil a less unequal country

Did you know that, on average, a black woman earns 42 per cent less than a white man? And that the richest 10 per cent earn on average 14.4 times more than the poorest 40 per cent? And that the high school dropout rate among black teenagers is 35.7 per cent, while the national average is 28.7 per cent? These are just some of the data presented in the first report by the Brazilian Inequalities Observatory, one of the activities of the National Pact to Combat Inequalities.

The initiative, launched at the end of August, brings together social organizations, associations of municipalities, parliamentary fronts, trade union centers and trade associations. The idea is to set up a task force to make the fight against socio-economic inequalities a national priority. 

To make Brazil a fairer country with better opportunities, the pact is based on the following actions:

• Monitoring different dimensions of inequality;
• Encouraging the mapping of inequalities by public authorities;
• Recognizing successful initiatives to combat inequality;
• Suggest measures for municipalities, companies and organizations on the subject. 

The Parliamentary Front to Combat Inequalities intends to work on proposing legislation to increase equity. It will also analyses bills through the lens of combating inequalities.

Union to combat inequalities 

The National Pact to Combat Inequalities has launched three guides with suggestions for action. Each of these documents was created by a civil society organisation working in the area. The idea is that each guide introduces general guidelines for companies, municipalities and trade union centers and, within the reality of each entity, actions can be implemented to improve the country. Read on:

What can cities do to fight against inequalities?

1) Build the Map of Territorial Inequalities – Produce data and indicators to identify the areas of the city most in need of services and urban infrastructure;

2) Distribute the budget according to the vulnerability of the districts – Create a neighbourhood vulnerability index to direct investments according to socio-economic and territorial criteria;

3) Produce studies of the population’s perception – Produce opinion polls and other forms of consultation that incorporate the population’s perspective into the creation of public policies;

4) Create a participatory Goals Programme for management – Draw up a Goals Programme in line with the 2030 Agenda and with broad social participation;

5) Stimulate the participation of society – Create and strengthen instances of social participation to monitor targets and indicators for reducing inequalities;

6) Decentralize public management – Promote administrative decentralization in cities;

7) Improve the indicators of the City Sustainable Development Index; 

8) Make the approval of bills conditional on the reduction of inequalities – Approval of legislation or a regimental norm that establishes the evaluation of the impact of bills on the reduction of inequalities;

9) Encourage gender and racial equality in public management;

10) Create the Council of Representatives in the Legislature.

10 trade union initiatives to combat inequalities

1) Act to maintain the National Policy for the Valorization of the Minimum Wage, with the aim of 

raise wages, protect workers and social security beneficiaries and reduce income inequality;

2) Include clauses with rules and policies to ensure equal pay for women, the black population and people with disabilities in Collective Bargaining Agreements;

3) Promote the negotiation of better working conditions, labour and social security protection for application workers;

4) Expand union coverage and protection;

5) Act to reorganize and strengthen the Public Employment, Labour and Income System to promote job protection policies, assist the unemployed, guarantee access to labour intermediation and productive microcredit;

6) Defend in social participation spaces the centrality of labour and employment policies, with priority attention to combating informality, generating quality jobs and reducing working hours;

7) Valuing and promoting collective bargaining conducted by trade unions as the main means of dealing with the many challenging issues arising from changes in the world of work;

8) Ensure that collective agreements and conventions, when dealing with initiatives for a low-carbon economy, consider the principles of Just Transition, valuing collective bargaining, labour protection, the implementation of compensatory public policies, respect for human rights and the culture of impacted communities and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals;

9) Develop initiatives to promote agrarian reform, valorise family farming and strengthen micro and small businesses; 

10) Promote the increased participation of women and blacks in trade union structures.

Guide for companies: 10 initiatives to build a more equal and just country

1) Promote decent work and generate opportunities and fair income;

2) Promote diversity, equity and inclusion within companies and in the communities in which they operate;

3) Fight hunger and promote food security;

4) Prevent and combat corruption, corporate fraud and promote corporate transparency;

5) Promoting the health and well-being of employees, customers, partners and suppliers and the surrounding communities;

6) Strengthening access to education;

7) Promote responsible and transparent management of the value chain;

8) Conserving ecosystems and combating deforestation;

9) Promoting climate justice;

10) Strengthening democracy in the country.

An effective way for companies to comply with the initiatives is by becoming partners with civil society organizations that work directly on one of the themes. This is the case, for example, with the Ramacrisna Institute.

For 64 years, the institution has been transforming the lives of children, adolescents and adults in situations of social vulnerability. Since it was founded, the institute has benefited 2,025,482 people, always working on important fronts provided for in the National Pact to Combat Inequalities, such as providing low-cost food, increasing education levels, professional training and social assistance, through education, leisure, culture, sport, apprenticeships, digital inclusion and professionalization projects. 

In all, more than two million people living in 11 cities in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region have already benefited from at least one of our initiatives.

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