Unions win in court and workers will receive R$ 15 billion in compensation from Petrobras.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - In a lengthy trial that began on Thursday morning and was decided by the final vote, the Superior Labor Court (TST) dealt a blow to Petrobras in a lawsuit concerning the method of payment of a salary allowance, a case that could lead to billions of dollars in losses for the state-owned company.

The defeat could mean losses of up to 17 billion reais for Petrobras, according to an estimate from a company source cited by Reuters.

The case in question concerns the company's compensation policy for its employees since 2007, with the adoption of the Minimum Level and Regime Remuneration (RMNR). At issue was the method of calculating this item.

The president of the TST (Superior Labor Court), Brito Pereira, cast the tie-breaking vote in the case and agreed with the argument presented by the employees' representatives. He sided with excluding additional payments related to special work regimes, such as night shift and hazardous work pay, from the calculation base of the RMNR (Minimum National Remuneration).

With this prevailing argument, Petrobras may be forced to supplement a larger amount than it currently pays its employees in order for the RMNR (Minimum Guaranteed Remuneration) to be achieved.

Petrobras and the Attorney General's Office (AGU) had argued that these additional payments should be included by the state-owned company in the calculation base for the Minimum National Remuneration (RMNR). This is the practice that the state-owned company has adopted since the first collective agreement signed with the category. In total, 12 ministers voted in this direction.

The state-owned company's defense, which was counting on a victory in the trial behind the scenes, has already announced that it will appeal to the court itself in order to clarify the outcome of the trial, with motions for clarification, and to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), attempting to overturn the TST's decision on the merits, according to a source who spoke to Reuters during the week.

"We will await the publication of the judgment and evaluate the available appeal options within the court or at the Supreme Federal Court. Petrobras is absolutely confident in reversing today's decision," said Petrobras' legal manager, Thaisa Maciel, in an interview after the trial, emphasizing that the decision has no economic or financial impact on the state-owned company.

In a relevant fact disclosed after the trial, Petrobras also stated that the ruling does not represent an immediate financial and economic impact on the company.

The company itself did not make any provision in its balance sheet for potential losses from the lawsuit. There is an amount of 15,2 billion reais classified as a possible loss related to this process, meaning there is a low probability of having to pay it.

The winning argument was presented, right at the beginning of the voting, by the rapporteur of the case, Minister Alberto Bresciani.

"Additional payments of constitutional and legal origin, intended to compensate for work under special or harmful conditions — including hazard and unhealthy work bonuses, night work bonuses, overtime pay, rest and meal breaks, and others — cannot be included in the calculation base," he stated.

Reviewing the case, Minister Maria de Assis Calsing, immediately following Bresciani, dissented and agreed with Petrobras's argument.

"It leads to the conviction that the professional category had full understanding and knowledge of the calculation basis and that the various work agreements were concluded in this manner," he emphasized.

According to lawyer Flávia Rosa, from Maciel Law Firm, the TST (Superior Labor Court) establishes "an important rule of business conduct regarding the agreement of collective bargaining agreements".

"The TST, ruling against Petrobras, considers the constitutional principle of equality in collective agreements to be paramount, determining that additional payments cannot be included in the calculation base for the RMNR supplement, meaning that the values ​​of additional payments, such as hazard pay and unhealthy work conditions pay, must be excluded from the salary, and Petrobras will have to supplement the payment to its employees," he assessed.