Brazil labor court head: Outsourcing should be decided on by Supreme Court

In a statement made Friday (Mar. 31), Brazil's Superior Labor Court (TST) head Ives Gandra said that the  outsourcing of all jobs in a company should be a matter in the hands of the Supreme Court (STF) to decide. “We have two bills on the same issue. If both are approved you can actually draft a new law assimilating the advantages in both. I think the issue will end up being resolved by the STF,” he said.

On March 22, the Chamber of Deputies, as Brazil's lower house of Congress is known, passed a bill allowing any activity in a company—both privately or publicly held—to be outsourced. Also under deliberation at the Senate is an alternate piece of legislation approved by the lower house.

The approval of the bill by the lawmakers took place amid strong protests from trade union representatives and congress members in the opposition, who tried to block the vote to no avail. Since the text had already been analyzed by the Senate, the legislation was directly submitted to the president for signature or veto.

“The Senate is actually being seen as a tool to produce some sort of hybrid, with a little bit of each [piece]. I don't think it's very likely,” Gandra said.

Ives Gandra took part in a business conference that gathered specialists and representatives from businesses across over 30 sectors in the economy to discuss the labor overhaul.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira