WBO and Lavoro Join Forces to Expand Debate on Labor and Social Rights Internationally
WBO Press Release
Oct 6 2025
The WBO and the Lavoro Institute have begun a joint effort to internationalize the debate on labor and social rights. Over the course of 12 months, joint actions will be undertaken to expand the international reach of issues such as the growing informality and precariousness of the labor market, work on digital platforms, working hours, wage equality, union organization, and respect for human rights standards in the world of work.
The joint action includes the creation of a Trade Union Working Group with the participation of the country's main trade unions – CUT, CGT, and Força Sindical – as well as the Instituto Novos Paradigmas, with a view to increasing contact with international bodies such as the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
A digital platform, included in the project, will democratize access to documents, decisions, reports, and international case law in the sector, making publicly available a map of all regulations and case law from bodies such as the ILO, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
"We hope this joint initiative will contribute to the intense international exchange that the Brazilian labor sector has historically enjoyed in a world of work undergoing profound transformation and becoming increasingly interconnected. We want to provide specialized support for Brazilian organizations' access to the international human rights protection system and learn from the extensive expertise of Brazilian unions in international bodies such as the ILO and many other branches of international workers' organizations," said Paulo Abrão, executive director of the WBO.
The context in which the project is being developed is marked by profound transformations generated by political, economic, and health crises that have increased inequalities, informality, and rights violations. Specifically in Brazil, work for digital platforms and domestic work have become examples of asymmetries and injustices, especially after the pandemic and the labor reforms implemented in 2017.
The WBO is part of the Aliança Brazil Office, an independent, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to promoting cooperation and knowledge about the Brazilian reality and offering support to the international work of civil society, social movements, and other sectors of Brazil abroad, in defense of democracy, human rights, the environment, Indigenous peoples, and public freedoms.
