Division of the Ministry of Labor causes administrative confusion.

From the Rede Brasil Atual "The Superintendency is still in operation," informs the attendant at one of the Regional Superintendencies of the defunct Ministry of Labor, the former DRTs, as they are still known by the public. The São Paulo Superintendency, for example, still has the inscription "Regional Delegation" on its facade.

All those consulted for this report stated that operations are normal, but the administrative changes of the new government, outlined in Provisional Measure 870, have scattered the responsibilities previously concentrated in the Ministry of Labor, creating a scenario of uncertainty.

One of the key functions, labor inspection, for example, fell under the responsibility of the "super" Ministry of Economy. Last week, the Secretary of Inspection, Claudio Secchin, was dismissed – an interim official has taken his place, who is expected to remain until the 31st.

The changes are causing apprehension at Sinait, the national union of tax auditors. "We continue to fight for the unity of the tax inspection and we expect the government to understand the importance of this, given the tax inspection experience accumulated over almost 130 years," says the organization's president, Carlos Silva.

Sinait emphasizes that, according to Convention 81 of the International Labour Organization (ILO), this area should be comprised of civil servants "whose status and conditions of service ensure them job security and make them independent of any change of government or any undue external influence." One of the concerns of the working world is precisely that the government will promote pro-capital changes in inspection standards.

Divided, some functions of the former Ministry of Labor are now the responsibility of the 'super' Ministry of Economy.

Political analyst Antônio Augusto de Queiroz, known as Toninho, on leave from his position as director of the Inter-Union Department of Parliamentary Advisory (Diap), observes that former congressman Rogério Marinho (PSDB-RN) became "the strongman of the Bolsonaro government in the world of work" precisely to deepen the labor "reform" and lead changes in regulatory norms, among other measures.

Marinho was precisely the rapporteur for the "reform" in the Chamber of Deputies, which became Law 13.467. Having failed to win re-election in 2018, he was appointed Special Secretary for Social Security and Labor in the Ministry of Economy. Among his responsibilities are overseeing labor inspections and safety and health policies.

Subordinate to the area of ​​the former deputy, there will be a Labor Secretariat, which in turn will have two sub-secretariats, one of which is for inspection. For Toninho, like others, it is a ministry without a "social vision," following the logic of the current government. The very extinction of the Ministry of Labor has a symbolic aspect, insofar as it fails to recognize the imbalance in capital-labor relations. The analyst classifies what occurred in one of the oldest active ministries – created in 1930 – as a "dismemberment."

Also within the Economy Ministry, the Special Secretariat for Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness is headed by economist Carlos Alexandre da Costa. His role is to formulate public policies on employment and income. A former director of the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), Costa served on the transition team as Bolsonaro's economic advisor. He is yet another figure reinforcing the government's "liberal" vision.

The functioning of each activity will still depend on formal changes in each department. According to the press office of the former Ministry of Labor, all appointed positions will be eliminated. And the composition of the councils will have to be completely altered.

In the case of the Deliberative Council of the Severance Indemnity Fund, now also under the command of the "super" Ministry of Economy – namely Paulo Guedes, a name associated with the financial sector and an enthusiast of unlimited "liberalization," which can be understood as deregulation of the world of work.

Trade unionism as the "enemy"
For those who want to understand how this area will function from now on, the analyst from Diap proposes a summary: simply consult the document from the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) with 101 proposals for labor "modernization." "That's the roadmap. The Bolsonaro government has resumed the CNI's agenda."

The Ministries of Citizenship and of Women, Family and Human Rights will take on other tasks previously concentrated in the Ministry of Labor. One of these concerns the fight against slave labor, which has always been the target of demands from the business sector for the "flexibilization" of the concept adopted by the inspection authorities.

The responsibility for registering labor unions will fall to the Ministry of Justice, headed by Sergio Moro, which, according to the licensed director of DIAP, suggests intense scrutiny and even persecution. He believes the government's logic will be to treat the labor movement as an enemy. "And the only segment that can create any kind of obstacle to this overwhelming wave of liberal ideology."

"The dilution of the Ministry of Labor's competencies among various ministries and secretariats will result in a serious loss of relevance for the area's issues within the governmental context, exacerbating problems such as lack of resources, coherence, and effectiveness due to a lack of coordination," the analyst further points out in the text.

"The dismantling will severely affect regional structures, which will then suffer interference from various bodies, without a unified policy and direction. All of this will facilitate the government's actions in making labor issues increasingly distant from the interests of workers and increasingly subject to the government's economic guidelines and the interests of the business sector."

Against extinction
The PT (Workers' Party) caucuses in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies have announced that they have appealed to the Attorney General's Office to halt the elimination of the Ministry of Labor. According to the current leaders, Senator Paulo Rocha (PA) and Deputy Paulo Pimenta (RS), the measure, which they call a "historic error," "goes against the public interest and will cause serious harm to social and collective rights."

On the 2nd, the National Federation of Lawyers filed a lawsuit alleging violation of a fundamental precept (ADPF) with the Supreme Federal Court (STF), also questioning the extinction of the ministry and requesting a preliminary (provisional) decision. Minister Ricardo Lewandowski was chosen as the rapporteur for the case, but since the Judiciary is in recess, the request will be reviewed by the Court's president, Dias Toffoli.