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The author revisits the role of trade unionism and its functions (economic, political, ethical, business or regulatory, welfare and representative). He highlights historical facts, theoretical foundations and contemporary phenomena that contribute to configuring trade unions. In this mission, he considered the influence of the constant change in social and economic structures that affected the configuration of professional relations, namely the union of countries into blocs, the globalization of companies, the relocation of production and the advent of new technologies. As a consequence, the author records the decrease in unionization and the devaluation of unions. For government relations, the model practised in the European Union shows that the State can efficiently fulfil its role by relying on the collaboration of effectively free and integrated trade unions, through social dialog policies. Besides, a healthy trade union organisation is essential to help the government (without burdening the public budget) in monitoring the productive space. Through collective private autonomy, it suggests specific solutions in negotiating international, national and local labour rules.The reconstruction of the Brazilian union structure is a challenge to be overcome to take advantage of the great democratic potential of the unions. From this legislative perspective, sustainable socioeconomic development can be considered as resulting from companies' success, fair remuneration, and peaceful coexistence with employees, whoserepresentation cannot be merely formal and voiceless. The investigation finds international standards, including those of the Portuguese and Brazilian legal systems. The author opted for the academic technique of "ad hoc" review of prestigious European, Brazilian and Uruguayan literature.