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The following are rights of urban and rural workers, among others that aim to improve their social conditions:
I – employment protected against arbitrary dismissal or against dismissal without just cause, in accordance with a supplementary law which shall establish severance-pay, among other rights;
II – unemployment insurance, in the event of involuntary unemployment;
III – severance-pay fund;
IV – nationally unified minimum monthly wage, established by law, capable of satisfying their basic living needs and those of their families with housing, food, education, health, leisure, clothing, hygiene, transportation, and social security, with periodical adjustments to maintain its purchasing power, it being forbidden to use it as an index for any purpose;
V – a salary floor in proportion to the extent and complexity of the work;
VI – irreducibility of the wages, except when established in collective agreement or covenant;
VII – guarantee of wages never below the minimum one, for those receiving variable pay;
VIII – year-end one-salary bonus based on the full pay or on the amount of the pension;
IX – payrate for night-shift work higher than that for daytime work;
X – wage protection, as provided by law, with felonious withholding of wages being a crime;
XI – participation in the profits or results, independent of wages, and, exceptionally, participation in the management of the company, as defined by law;
XII – family allowance paid to each dependent of low-income workers, under the terms of the law;
XIII – normal working hours not exceeding eight hours per day and forty-four hours per week, with the option of compensating working hours and reducing the length of the workday through an agreement or a collective bargaining covenant;
XIV – a workday of six hours for work carried out in continuous shifts, unless otherwise established by collective bargaining;
XV – paid weekly leave, preferably on Sundays;
XVI – rate of pay for overtime at least fifty per cent higher than that of normal work;
XVII – annual vacation with remuneration at least one third higher than the normal salary;
XVIII – maternity leave without loss of job and of salary, for a period of one hundred and twenty days;
XIX – paternity leave, under the terms established by law;
XX – protection of the labour market for women through specific incentives, as provided by law;
XXI – advance notice of dismissal in proportion to the length of service, of at least thirty days, as provided by law;
XXII – reduction of employment related risks by means of health, hygiene and safety rules;
XXIII – additional remuneration for strenuous, unhealthy or dangerous work, as established by law;
XXIV – retirement pension;
XXV – free assistance for children and dependents of up to five years of age, in day-care centres and pre-school facilities;
XXVI – recognition of collective bargaining agreements and covenants;
XXVII – protection on account of automation, as established by law;
XXVIII – occupational accident insurance, to be paid for by the employer, without excluding the employer’s liability for indemnity in the event of malice or fault;
XXIX – legal action, with respect to credits arising from employment relationships, with a limitation of five years for urban and rural workers, up to the limit of two years after the end of the employment contract;
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XXX – prohibition of any difference in wages, in the performance of duties and in hiring criteria by reason of sex, age, colour or marital status;
XXXI – prohibition of any discrimination with respect to wages and hiring criteria of handicapped workers;
XXXII – prohibition of any distinction between manual, technical, and intellectual work or among the respective professionals;
XXXIII – prohibition of night, dangerous, or unhealthy work for minors under eighteen years of age, and of any work for minors under sixteen years of age, except as an apprentice, for minors above fourteen years of age;
XXXIV – equal rights for workers with a permanent employment bond and for sporadic workers.
Sole paragraph. The category of domestic workers is ensured of the rights set forth in items IV, VI, VII, VIII, X, XIII, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XXI, XXII, XXIV, XXVI, XXX, XXXI, and XXXIII, and, observing the conditions established by law and with due regard for simplified compliance with both primary and ancillary tax obligations arising from labour relations and from their peculiarities, also of those rights set forth in items I, II, III, IX, XII, XXV, and XXVIII, as well as of integration in the Social Security system. (Art. 7)

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Paragraph 3. The right to special protection shall include the following aspects:
I – minimum age of fourteen years for admission to work, with due regard to the provisions of article 7, XXXIII;
II – guarantee of social security and labour rights;
… (Art. 227)

All persons are equal before the law, without any distinction whatsoever, Brazilians and foreigners residing in the country being ensured of inviolability of the right to life, to liberty, to equality, to security and to property, on the following terms:
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XIII – the practice of any work, trade or profession is free, observing the professional qualifications which the law shall establish;
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Social assistance shall be rendered to whomever may need it, regardless of contribution to social welfare and shall have as objectives:
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III – the promotion of the integration into the labour market;
... (Art. 203)

The fundamental objectives of the Federative Republic of Brazil are:
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III – to eradicate poverty and substandard living conditions and to reduce social and regional inequalities;
IV – to promote the well-being of all, without prejudice as to origin, race, sex, colour, age and any other forms of discrimination. (Art. 3)

We, the representatives of the Brazilian People, convened in the National Constituent Assembly to institute a democratic state for the purpose of ensuring the exercise of social and individual rights, liberty, security, well-being, development, equality and justice as supreme values of a fraternal, pluralist and unprejudiced society, founded on social harmony and committed, in the internal and inter- national orders, to the peaceful settlement of disputes, promulgate, under the protection of God, this Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. (Preamble)

All persons are equal before the law, without any distinction whatsoever, Brazilians and foreigners residing in the country being ensured of inviolability of the right to life, to liberty, to equality, to security and to property, on the following terms:
I – men and women have equal rights and duties under the terms of this Constitution;
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XLI – the law shall punish any discrimination which may attempt against fundamental rights and liberties;
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The federal judges have the competence to institute legal proceeding and trial of:
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XI – disputes over the rights of Indians.
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The Indians, their communities and organizations have standing under the law to sue to defend their rights and interests, the Public Prosecution intervening in all the procedural acts. (Art. 232)

It is exclusively the competence of the National Congress:
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XVI – to authorize, in Indian lands, the exploitation and use of hydric resources and the prospecting and mining of mineral resources;
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