The complaints of electoral harassment made to the MPT (Ministry of Labor) reached 2,243 this Friday (28), a number ten times greater than that of 2018. The suspicions involve 1,731 businessmen or public managers.
Four years ago, the MPT registered 212 complaints against 98 companies. This year, the number of cases is already higher than the total for 2018 in three states: Minas Gerais (542), Paraná (243) and São Paulo (229). Santa Catarina appears in fourth place (208) and Rio Grande do Sul in fifth (194).
Denunciations of employers coercing employees or promising benefits in exchange for votes took a leap after the first round of elections and raised the alarm in the campaign of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Although no survey has been released on which candidate would benefit most from the illegal practices seen so far, most of the reports that have come to the public are from businessmen and mayors who support the reelection of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
The Attorney General of Labour, José de Lima Ramos Pereira, told the Sheet this Friday that the MPT has not collected the data per candidate because the information is irrelevant to the work of the entity.
“The statistic we have been looking for is exactly the one that helps our performance. The number of complaints, where are these complaints, in which state, in which region, which companies were denounced. The question of the candidate to be benefited or harmed by electoral harassment in the work relationship is not on the list of our attributions”, he said.
“What is the purpose of the Public Ministry of Labor? It is that, in the work relationship developed in companies, unions, cooperatives, in any place, this does not happen [assédio eleitoral]. And, if it happens, let it be properly fought. That’s our concern. That’s why we don’t [levantamento por candidato].”
Faced with the increase in cases, labor prosecutors from all regions were summoned to act this weekend and try to prevent, for example, employers from withholding documents from employees.
The TST (Superior Labor Court) announced that it will be on duty to “ensure the full exercise of fundamental rights and the proper functioning of judicial activity”.
The president of the TST, Minister Lelio Bentes Corrêa, sent a letter to the TRTs (Regional Labor Courts) recommending that they also intensify the on-call regime on the weekend of the second shift.
“The worst that can happen is to arrive on election day and have a company preventing workers from voting with scales that prevent them from leaving the place. We have to be minimally prepared to receive this information and seek an immediate solution because we only have between 8 am and 5 pm”, said Ramos Pereira.
“That’s why I decided to open all our units across the country. I also talked to the minister president [do TST]Lelio Bentes, who promptly determined the shifts in the Labor Court”, he added.
The reports that emerged showed employers blackmailing employees to vote for the president with promises of ham, time off, R$200 bonus, 14th and 15th salary or threatening workers to be fired if Lula is elected.
One of the exceptions occurred in Bahia, where the director of a union, who is a councilor and was a candidate for state deputy, was caught in a video threatening anyone who would vote for Bolsonaro. The case was closed with the signing of an agreement with the MPT in September.
HOW AND WHERE TO REPORT ELECTORAL HARASSMENT
The MPT suggests that workers file complaints with as much material evidence as possible, such as documents, images and text or audio messages. They can be made all over Brazil and anonymously through the website of the Public Ministry of Labor.
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
