This paper analyses to what extent the Decent Work Campaigns Towards and Beyond 2014 (World Cup) and Towards and Beyond 2016 (Olympics) by the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) initiated a process of coordinating activities between national and international trade unions of the construction industry. The data collected will be analysed employing the power resource method. Based on those findings the achievements and permanencies of these two campaigns are identified. The World Cup Campaign was capable of mobilising a large part of the Brazilian trade union movement. One factor that motivated the trade unions to join the campaign was that the BWI already had experience of strategic campaigns before and after mega sporting events (MSE). Furthermore, it became increasingly apparent that negotiations had to be conducted with the organizers of the World Cup. Another reason was the lack of any coordinated approach at national level. The main outcomes of the 2014 World Cup campaign include a national bargaining agenda, which was supported by a series of strikes at the football stadiums under construction. This combination had direct influence on the negotiations at regional level. The 2016 Olympic Games Campaign achieved wage increases and had other positive outcomes such as the occupational safety protocol, which defines safety and security rules for construction work, and an agreement on the use of certified wood products. However, difficulties in developing a national bargaining agenda were identified during the 2016 campaign. The data indicate that the lessons learnt from the 2014 campaign with regard to the coordination of agendas on international-national and national-local level were applied inconsistently in 2016 with difficulties that stemmed from local unions’ attempts to enforce their local priorities.

Mega Sporting Events in Brazil: Trade Unions’ Innovative Strategies for the Construction Industry,by Mauricio Rombaldi
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/14146.pdf

Grands évènements sportifs : quelles opportunités d’actions innovantes pour les syndicats? L’exemple du Brésil, by Mathilde Dorcadie
https://www.fes.de/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=31083&token=dbc7597e588569d18653fbbe62648077bbbe3f78

Are major sports events opportunities for innovative trade union action? The example of Brazil by Mathilde Dorcadie
https://www.fes.de/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=31084&token=dd6f301f2284bba3c6bf7e5f79713256b956cba9

Campanhas por trabalho decente em megaeventos esportivos no Brasil: estratégias sindicais inovadoras no setor da construção, seus êxitos e permanências
https://www.fes.de/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=31074&token=14973ca524b7730b2d50f2ffb47e62563ba8a74b

Mauricio Rombaldi

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