GT must present revision of labor legislation in the 1st semester

The Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho, said this Monday (8th), in an interview with Brazil Agency, that the government intends to present new proposals for the revision of the current labor legislation by the end of this semester. The expectation is that, in the second semester, these proposals will be forwarded for voting by the National Congress.

The revisions, explained the minister, are being discussed in tripartite working groups, with the participation of the government, workers and employers. On the next 23rd, for example, business leaders and workers’ representatives will meet to establish dates and priorities for the groups.

“It is at this meeting on the 23rd that the goals of how long the group wants to accomplish this task of building the texts to submit to Congress will be set. But I hear business and worker leaders say that it is desirable to conclude this in the first semester”, said Marinho. “It is not an easy task, but it is the goal they are setting and with which we are in full agreement”.

According to him, the government has been trying to be just an intermediary in this tripartite commission, leaving the proposals to be constructed by the parties: “it is a tripartite group, formed by businessmen, workers and under the coordination of the government. The government’s purpose is more to coordinate the parties, to provoke, so that the parties build understanding. It is evident that the government has a position, but we want the parties to build this understanding because surely this will be better for the procedure in the National Congress”.

This afternoon, the minister participated in the 11th National Congress of Metallurgists and Metallurgists of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CNM/CUT), which runs until next Thursday (11) at a hotel in Guarulhos (SP). With the theme Rebuilding Brazil in a Sustainable and Humane Way with Decent Work, Sovereignty, Income and Rights, the congress intends to debate themes related, mainly, to work and industry.

During the event, the minister commented on the need to regulate application platforms in Brazil, such as Uber, Ifood and 99.

“I keep asking myself what is the role of new technologies, with technological innovations. It is fundamental, it is important and it is necessary to always improve new technologies. They are most welcome. But I imagine that when we were talking about new ways, new mechanisms and new technologies, it was to create better living conditions for the population of the whole world, which would serve to end hunger and misery. And not that the new technologies would serve to exploit workers even more”, said Marinho.

“What the famous platforms are doing in Brazil and around the world is turning workers almost into slaves of algorithms. We need to react to create conditions in which platform workers are respected”, he added, during the event.

After giving a speech and answering questions from the participants, the minister spoke with the Brazil Agency. He went back to talking about app regulation. According to him, this topic has also been discussed at meetings of workers and representatives of these companies and the idea is that a proposal is also constructed by the parties.

“I find it more difficult to meet this deadline (for submitting the proposal) in the first half. But it would be desirable. This will also depend on the maturity of the parties. What I hope is that employers come to the table with a view to construction,” said Marinho. “It is desirable that, as soon as possible, these proposals be constructed so that they can be submitted to Congress, which will have the final say,” he said.