Labor reform could worsen the Brumadinho tragedy.
A change in labor legislation has altered the agreement between workers and employers regarding moral damages, and this will have a direct influence on the victims of the Brumadinho tragedy in Minas Gerais, the second involving Vale (a state-owned company privatized by Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1997).
PT Agency - In November 2017, during the illegitimate government of Michel Temer, a change in labor legislation altered the agreement between workers and employers regarding moral damages, and this will have a direct influence on the victims of the Brumadinho tragedy in Minas Gerais, the second involving Vale (a state-owned company privatized by Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1997).
According to article 223-G, paragraph 1, item IV of the new law, the families of Vale workers and employees of outsourced companies who were victims of the crime committed by the company will receive a maximum of 50 times the value of the mine employees' salaries. For someone who hypothetically received the minimum wage (R$ 998,00), the maximum would be R$ 49.900,00.
Other victims, such as the inn's guests, will have their compensation calculated by the judge. This change in labor law could create a peculiar situation. The families of Vale's workers and contractors may receive less compensation than the families of residents who were also victims of the landslide.
"It is one of the biggest labor tragedies in the country's history. Most of the victims are workers who lost their lives on the company's premises," said Ronaldo Fleury, Attorney General of the Labor Public Ministry, in an interview with Globo. "But compensation to the families of all those who were working at Vale is limited to 50 times their salary thanks to the Labor Reform."
In early January, the National Association of Labor Court Magistrates (Anamatra) filed a direct action of unconstitutionality with the Supreme Federal Court (STF), requesting that the articles dealing with moral damages be considered unconstitutional. According to the entity, the limitation violates the principle of equality by establishing higher compensation for those who earn more.
So far, according to the bulletin released on Monday morning (28), 60 people have died and another 292 are still missing.
This is yet another demonstration of the anti-people measures adopted by Michel Temer and which continue under the Bolsonaro government.