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Company is responsible for severance pay of technician dismissed due to the hospital's financial crisis, caused by an environmental disaster.

From the Editors

 

Monday, October 14, 2024

 

Updated at 11:55

 

The 2nd panel of the TST determined that Braskem must be held liable for the payment of labor benefits owed to a nursing technician dismissed due to the financial difficulties of the hospital where she worked, resulting from environmental problems caused by the mining company's activity in Maceio/AL.

 

The court reaffirmed the jurisdiction of the Labor Court to judge cases in which environmental disasters cause harm to workers, even when the company responsible is not the direct employer.

 

Braskem must answer for labor debt of hospital in crisis after environmental disaster. 

Hospital in crisis

 

Braskem is at the center of an environmental crisis in Maceio due to the extraction of rock salt, which caused the ground to sink in several neighborhoods, generating mass evacuations and irreversible damage.

 

The nursing technician worked at a hospital located in the affected area. In 2020, the hospital began to face serious structural problems, with cracks and closed rooms, turning the place into a horror scene, according to the worker.

 

The region was completely evacuated, which impacted the hospital's operation and the working conditions of the team.

 

Due to the crisis, the hospital began to delay salaries, which led the technician to miss work. In January 2022, she was dismissed for just cause and took legal action, requesting that Braskem be held jointly liable for the payment of her severance pay.

 

By November 2023, the hospital was completely evacuated.

 

Arguments and court decision

 

Braskem argued that it could not be held responsible for the hospital's labor debts, claiming that it did not have any employment relationship with the technician.

 

However, the TRT of the 19th region reformed the first instance sentence and ordered Braskem to pay labor benefits, in addition to R$5,000 for moral damages.

 

Minister Liana  rapporteur of Braskem's appeal at the TST, highlighted that, despite there being no employment relationship with the company, the hospital's default was directly linked to the environmental disaster caused by the mining company.

 

The decision was based on the "prince's act theory", which, by analogy, applies to cases in which actions by third parties, such as public authorities or companies, prevent the fulfillment of contracts.

 

The minister also highlighted the polluter-pays principle, provided for in the environmental crimes law ( law 9.605/98 ), which imposes on those who cause environmental damage the responsibility to repair the losses in all social spheres, including labor.

 

The environmental degradation caused by Braskem requires reparation in the various areas violated, including guaranteeing the labor rights of nursing technicians ,concluded the minister.

 

Case :  603-48.2022.5.19.0002

 

link: https://www.migalhas.com.br/quentes/417422/braskem-indenizara-mulher-demitida-de-hospital-apos-desastre-ambiental