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'Labor reform represents a throwback to the 19th century'

This opinion is shared by retired labor judge Magda Biavaschi, economist José Dari Krein and sociologist Ricardo Antunes

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Brazil is currently experiencing a profound regressive wave. Not even during the military dictatorship was there such a harsh offensive against workers' rights as the one currently underway. If approved as proposed, the labor reform intended by the Temer government, which is unconstitutional, will take the country back to the 1917th century in terms of worker social protection. The analysis summarizes, to a large extent, the speeches of three participants in the seminar “General Strike of 28 – The Centenary of the General Strike and the Edgard Leuenroth Archive [AEL]”, promoted on June XNUMXth by the AEL. According to sociologist Ricardo Antunes, economist José Dari Krein and retired labor judge Magda Barros Biavaschi, the aim of the reform is to promote the dismantling of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), won by workers after much struggle.

Photo: Antoninho Perri
Above, the opening table of the seminar “General Strike of 1917 – The Centenary of the General Strike and the Edgard Leuenroth Archive”: left. to the right: Humberto Innarelli (technical director of AEL), Cristiano Tambascia (director of AEL), Teresa Atvars (general coordinator of Unicamp) and Alvaro Bianchi (director of AEL from May 2009 to May 2017); below, the audience       

Photo: Antoninho Perri

The three intellectuals made up the first table at the event, which discussed the topic “Labor Rights from 1917 to 2017 – From the General Strike to Temer’s Labor Reform”. According to Antunes, who is a professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH) at Unicamp, the federal government's reformist project constitutes a serious attack on workers' rights, a measure that was not undertaken even during the military dictatorship. “Since 1970, we have been witnessing a very profound bourgeois counter-revolution. We have reached the most destructive period in the history of capitalism, in which neoliberal barbarism has been promoting the dismantling and privatization of everything possible,” he stated.

Photo: Antoninho Perri
Sociologist Ricardo Antunes: “What we want with this type of initiative is to promote the 'uberization' of work”

image: LuppaOne of the consequences of this process, continued the sociologist, is the advancement of flexibility, which generates categories such as intermittent work, a principle that is contained in the labor reform drawn up by the federal government, and which has already been approved by the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission ( CCJ) of the Senate. “What we want with this type of initiative is to promote the 'uberization' of work, as is already happening in other countries. In other words, the intention is for the worker to be available to the needs and interests of the company. When there is work, he is called and gets paid. When he doesn’t have any, he stays at home and doesn’t get paid,” he compared.

Another model that is harmful to workers, noted Antunes, is outsourcing, which in the sociologist's opinion represents a return to slavery. “In the period of slavery, the master bought the slave. With outsourcing, the company rents out the working class. It is never too much to remember that it is through outsourcing that labor rights are most frequently violated, the lowest wages are paid and discrimination of all kinds is practiced”, pointed out the IFCH professor.

AUDIO RICARDO ANTUNES


According to José Dari Krein, who is a professor at Unicamp's Institute of Economics (IE), attempts to promote labor reforms have always been present in the history of Brazil. “From time to time, capital tries to adapt work to its interests and needs,” he reported. This has been occurring since the First Republic, when some labor rights were established, albeit in a punctual and sparse manner, which opened space for the subsequent formulation of the CLT. “Although it represented an important advance and expanded worker protection, the CLT is still legislation with a low degree of effectiveness. She was and continues to be mocked a lot. An example of this is the existence of around 15 million Brazilians who work without a formal contract”, pointed out the economist.

Photo: Antoninho Perri
Economist José Dari Krein: “From time to time, capital tries to adapt work to its interests and needs”

Image: lpsilvaLike Antunes, Krein considers that, by proposing the flexibility of labor legislation, the reform defended by the Temer government represents a setback and will contribute to the deepening of the Brazilian social crisis. Furthermore, the IE professor assures, experiences of this type, carried out in other countries, clearly demonstrate that the dismantling of social labor protection mechanisms does not generate employment, as the defenders of such a measure would have us believe. “Job generation depends on other factors, fundamentally those related to the dynamics of the economy”, observed the economist.

AUDIO JOSÉ DARI KREIN


In the same vein as Antunes and Krein, Magda Biavaschi has no doubt that the government's labor reform project, if approved, will represent the destruction of the social protection mechanisms achieved by workers over time. “The CLT is embedded in the fabric of Brazilian society. What the Brazilian elites, who are quite predatory, are trying to do is destroy the rights of workers and, consequently, the supervisory institutions, such as the Labor Court”, analyzed the retired judge.

Photo: Antoninho Perri
Retired labor judge Magda Biavaschi: “What Brazilian elites are trying to do is destroy workers’ rights and, consequently, supervisory institutions, such as the Labor Court”

Image: lpsilvaSuch an attempt, continues Magda, is part of the playbook of a worldwide movement, perpetrated by a “capitalism without webs”. “This reform represents a throwback to the most archaic times in Brazil, in which the jagunços had a place. Furthermore, it must be made clear that, contrary to what the government and employers claim, the reform does not create jobs. Rather, they make them even more precarious. Not to mention that the reform proposal has major unconstitutionalities, such as creating obstacles for people to have access to the Labor Court”, she defended.

AUDIO MAGDA BIAVASCHI

 

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Labor judge Magda Biavaschi, economist and sociologist Ricardo Antunes

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