Workers and employers are far from reaching an agreement on outsourcing.

Contrary to what Professor Pastore stated in a recent article, Brazil is far from reaching an agreement on the regulation of outsourcing, because, depending on both employers and the government, outsourcing will continue to be synonymous with precarious employment.

Efforts to regulate outsourcing in the country are longstanding. Business owners and workers have been debating the issue for over 10 years, developing their proposals. At stake are the central objectives of the regulation, which, in the case of employers and workers, are diametrically opposed.

On one hand, employers understand outsourcing as a management tool whose main objective is to reduce costs (according to a study by CNI itself), transferring responsibility for part of their services to a third party. In this way, the employer relinquishes responsibility for workers, their working conditions and remuneration, their union representation, and labor liabilities, while the government circumvents compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Law, avoiding spending control and also evading commitments to labor rights, worker health, and working conditions.

Workers, in turn, argue that outsourcing should guarantee equal rights and working conditions for outsourced workers, and that employers should be jointly liable for these workers.

The data shows the reality of outsourcing in Brazil: outsourced workers earn less and work more, get sick more often, and are more exposed to accidents and death at work, as they work in unhealthy environments and conditions in most cases, in addition to having the highest turnover rates in the labor market. The situation is so evident that today it is common sense among workers that being outsourced means having reduced rights.

In recent months, these discussions have gained more traction in society with the debate and negotiation surrounding Bill 4330, authored by Congressman Sandro Mabel, which is in its final stages of processing in the Chamber of Deputies. The content of the bill, presented by its rapporteur, Congressman Arthur Maia, aims to legalize precarious employment and expand outsourcing indefinitely in Brazil, opening the possibility of outsourcing any area and part of the production process, in both the private and public sectors.

In theory, if approved, the project will eliminate public hiring processes and open the possibility for companies without any direct employees. In a short time, Brazil will be comprised of a vast contingent of outsourced and precarious workers, and a small group of increasingly wealthy business owners at the expense of workers' rights. It's the "modern" form of slavery.

As a result of the political coordination and mobilization of the CUT (Unified Workers' Central) and other labor unions, a negotiating table was formed with representatives from workers, employers, the government, and the presence of Congressman Arthur Maia. After eight meetings, no significant move was made by the government, employers, or the rapporteur to change the central content of Bill 4330.

Given this, it is necessary to tell society that there is no agreement, nor any indication of agreement, regarding the regulation of outsourcing in this context.

The CUT National Executive Committee, meeting in São Paulo this week, reaffirmed its position: there will be no agreement on the final proposal constructed by the government and the rapporteur and presented at the last negotiating table meeting. There will be no agreement on a project that allows outsourcing for all areas and activities of the company; that does not guarantee equal rights for outsourced workers; that does not jointly commit employers to guaranteeing the remuneration, rights, and working conditions of outsourced workers; that allows subcontracting within the outsourcing process, that is, fourth-party outsourcing; and that does not guarantee the strengthening of the union representation of these workers. None of these points are included in the presented proposal and are all non-negotiable; this is the final position of the CUT.

The current climate of pressure to make labor relations more flexible presents us with the challenge of building a social pact so that the Brazilian labor market does not resemble the Chinese model, where productivity and its gains are the result of the unlimited exploitation of workers. We will never be a developed nation if we do not defend the central role of labor in this construction. Workers must be treated as fundamental actors in this process; they must be valued and protected by law. We need to advance in professional training, with an increasingly qualified workforce, a specialized workforce that generates wealth and added value to our production. We need to expand the rights and wages of Brazilians, guaranteeing above all dignity and citizenship.

Brazilian society cannot accept that the future of its youth and the country be compromised by a bill that throws away the rights achieved so far, leaving workers exposed and unprotected—a bill that has been called the "Slavery Bill." Either businesses and the government assume their responsibility, or the working class will bring Brazil to a standstill.