In closing, an important document

from the Brazilian labor movement

On the Unity of the Labor and Environmental Movements:

Our delegation writes from Brazil:

"Dear friends,

After revising the document, we received a letter of commitment from 8 (out of a total of 10 relevant) labor federations in Brazil. It is important to note that there are over 20,000 labor unions in Brazil. They are organized by industry and political orientation and then affiliate with national umbrella organizations. The UGT ( União Geral dos Trabalhadores—General Workers’ Union) was the first umbrella organization to include environmental issues in its principles, starting in 2007. They have gradually convinced the others to do the same. This commitment is remarkable because it combines environmental demands with demands to improve workers’ working and living conditions.

For example, protecting the Amazon is not possible without permanent employment contracts, (instead of) relying on informal—and therefore unregulated—labor in the Amazon. We also discussed within the delegation that the question of whether “work” should even continue in the Amazon—and how alternative jobs could then be created—still needs to be resolved. This was also discussed at the congress.

Not only were we able to participate there (Nov. 15), but we also had the opportunity to take the podium and deliver a welcoming address. They are very pleased with our future project, the International Environmental Council 2026, and will discuss how to collaborate on it."

 

Below is the document from the eight labor federations, translated into German: