Abstract

The Central Única dos Trabalhadores [Central Workers Union] (CUT) completed in August 2013 thirty years since its foundation. This date is of special significance because it is the largest and most representative organization of workers in Brazil and the most long-lived experience of Central Trade Unions in the history of Brazilian trade-unionism.

Heir of the "new unionism" that emerged in the Brazilian political scene in the late 1970s, in clear opposition to the military dictatorship, CUT quickly constituted itself as the hegemonic force and expression of combative unionism and fighting in opposition to "pro-management unions' ruling the period.  The CUT foundation arises as a result of the struggle of Brazilian labour movement against the dictatorship and the democratization process of the country where the working class has taken a leading role that changed the course of democratization in Brazil, designed by Brazilian military and civilian elite, to be slow, gradual and absent from popular participation .

In these 30 years of history, the CUT became symbol of a project of socialist transformation to a fully integrated institution in the formal democratic process and support element of  national government. Understanding these changes involves analyzing both global transformations in a globalized economy, such as culture and political practice of peripheral countries. The objective of this seminar is to discuss the current challenges of the CUT in national and international level, from an historical overview of the Brazilian political and trade union scene.

Bio Notes

Marcos Ferraz  holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of São Paulo (USP) and is  joint-professor at the Federal University of Grande Dourados, where he is a  lecturer in degree of Social Sciences and in the Graduate Programme in Sociology. Acurrently,  he is a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, funded by CAPES/Brazil. He is the author of the book Disritmia: sindicalismo e economia solidária no interior da CUT [Dysrhythmia: unionism and solidarity economy within the CUT] ; organized  the following books Educação e Conflito: luta sindical docente e novos desafios; Trabalho e Sindicalismo: tempos de incertezas; and O Sindicalismo Equilibrista. He also wrote many articles published in various scientific journals.

 
Fernanda Forte de Carvalho is policy advisor to the Central Workers union - CUT/Brazil, currently works at the National Secretariat for Formation. BA in Social Sciences from the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos - Unisinos (2001), Master in Sociology from the University of Coimbra (2007) and Ph.D. in Sociology in the PhD program "Labour Relations, Social Inequalities and Trade Unionism" of the University of Coimbra , period 2009-13.

Hélio da Costa is a researcher at the Social Observatory Institute. Master in Social History at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Ph.D. in Sociology of Work at the University of São Paulo (USP). Currently conducting a fact-finding mission at the Centre for Social Studies (CES),University of Coimbra, from  September 2013 to February 2014, with a scholarship funded by CAPES / Brazil under the project "Precarious work, social inequalities and dynamics of collective action" .

Note: Activity within the  Social Policies, Labour and Inequalities  Research Group (POSTRADE)