The MPT (Ministry of Labor) inspected Caixa’s headquarters on Monday (4) and defined that it will ask the MPF (Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office) to share the evidence gathered in the investigation that investigates allegations of sexual harassment against the former. -president of Pedro Guimarães bank.
Labor prosecutor Paulo Neto, responsible for the case, said that the MPT’s focus will be to investigate complaints of moral harassment at the institution. According to him, as a rule, moral harassment ends up being one of the consequences of sexual harassment.
“The Public Ministry of Labor will focus on moral harassment, without embargoing the assessment of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment and moral harassment go together. Generally, the harasser, when the victim does not give in to his advances, starts with moral harassment. He ignores it, takes retaliatory measures,” he said.
On June 29, the Public Ministry of Labor gave Caixa ten days to comment on the allegations of sexual harassment against Pedro Guimarães and Celso Leonardo Barbosa, former vice president of wholesale.
This Sunday (3), the bank and Guimarães were notified by the MPT so that they also clarify the allegations of moral harassment. Celso Leonardo Barbosa resigned from his position on Friday (1st).
“From there, [o MPT vai] decide whether to keep it as factual news, which is a preliminary investigation, to convert it into a civil inquiry or to adopt other measures. I received the information [da Caixa] that the demonstration is being prepared and made themselves available for additional information”, said the prosecutor.
Paulo Neto said that the main objective of the visit was to know the physical space where the alleged harassment took place before taking the testimonies. A Caixa employee who sought the MPT will be heard this Monday.
“I was received by the legal director [da Caixa], who accompanied me, took me to all the premises, and we took photographs that could help in the investigation. It’s an initial moment, gathering evidence,” she said.
“I went to the board that controls the whistleblowing channel and was told that an external company is hired, which guarantees anonymity. The information is passed on to Caixa’s internal affairs department, which then takes internal measures.”
Paulo Neto also stated that, once the allegations of moral harassment are proven, the Public Ministry of Labor may resort to the assets of the responsible managers to compensate the victims.
“The ideal is [responsabilizar o gestor], especially when it comes to a public body in which, often, society ends up paying for the excesses of a leader who practices moral harassment. If it is necessary to seek the conviction in court, we also include the manager in the passive pole of the action.”
The new president of Caixa, Daniella Marques, said this Sunday (3) in an interview with TV Record that she will conduct an agile and rigorous investigation into complaints of sexual harassment.
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