The Full Court of the 18th Regional Labor Court (TRT-18, Goiás) admitted, in a virtual session held from September 21 to 25, 2026, an Incident for the Resolution of Repetitive Claims (IRDR) on a question that had been decided differently within the court itself: may the union representing employers bring an enforcement action (ação de cumprimento) to demand obligations set out in collective bargaining agreements and conventions?
Among the cases examined are claims for assistance contributions owed to the union entity itself. According to the court, the 1st Panel holds that employers’ unions lack standing, relying on Article 872 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), which expressly refers to employees and their unions, and therefore dismisses such cases without examining the merits. The 2nd and 3rd Panels recognize the possibility, understanding that the CLT does not exclude employers’ entities and that, when collecting a contribution owed to itself, the union acts in defense of its own right.
At this stage, the Full Court only found that the incident meets the requirements to be processed. The procedure continues with the selection of a representative case and statements from the parties, other interested persons and the Public Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT). The Full Court will then rule on the merits and fix a legal thesis to be applied to current and future cases on the subject within TRT-18.
The technical opinion supporting the admission also checked that the topic is not subject, in the higher courts, to a qualified precedent that could prevent the incident: the issues addressed there concern unions’ role in defending members of their category, not whether an employers’ union may demand compliance with a collective rule as the holder of its own right.
Informational summary prepared from the source cited. For the full content and any updates, consult the original source. This is not legal advice.
Source: TRT-18 (Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da 18ª Região)
