Bolsonaro’s provisional executive order to save companies leaves workers vulnerable in crisis

Although the temporary suspension of employment contracts has been repealed, the measure still dilutes labor rights.

President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, and ministers participate in a video conference with representatives of the private sector. Photo: Isac Nóbrega/PR

Issued by the Presidency on Monday, March 22, Provisional Executive Order 927 conflicts with the labor and income protection measures that are being adopted by countries such as France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to address the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a statement released by Conectas Human Rights and Oxfam Brasil, although President Jair Bolsonaro decided to repeal the article that permitted the suspension of employment contracts without the payment of salaries for up to four months, the measure contains other articles that leave workers vulnerable through the relaxation of labor laws.

By determining that the situation caused by the pandemic constitutes force majeure, Provisional Executive Order 927 permits the reduction of salaries by up to 25% without a reduction in working hours. It also establishes a “labor law exception” by exempting employers in advance from workplace accident liability in the event that their employees become infected with COVID-19, except when a causal link can be proven by the employee.

“It is unbelievable that, while denying the seriousness of the pandemic and promoting confusion in public opinion, President Jair Bolsonaro is imposing measures that leave workers to fend for themselves while vehemently protecting the business community and the wealthy. This is why it is necessary for Congress, once again, to react to the measures,” said the organizations in the statement.

“The option for public policies that prioritize the top of the social pyramid, instead of the base, will have perverse effects on the economy and on consumption by imposing a wage squeeze on working people just when the world has started to discuss the need for a ‘new Marshall Plan’ to recover from the crisis caused by the pandemic,” they concluded.

Read the statement in full (in Portuguese) and understand the other areas where the federal government has proposed the dilution of labor rights.