Petrobras Acknowledges Possible Dismissal of Civil Servants from Torre Pituba

The Only Case of Collective Dismissal at Petrobras, According to Sindipetro-BA, Occurred in 1990, During the Government of Fernando Collor. However, the Dismissals Were Reversed.

This Tuesday, September 24, Petrobras acknowledged the intention to dismiss civil servants who work at Torre Pituba in Salvador. According to the Union of Oil Workers of Bahia (Sindipetro-BA), although this had been a suspicion among employees and labor entities, it was the first time the company publicly mentioned the possibility of dismissal. This week, the company opted to take legal action against union representatives who filed actions against the sale of assets from the state-owned company.

The announcement took place in front of just over 100 civil servants this Tuesday, 24, during a presentation. At the time, the unit manager confirmed that Torre Pituba will be completely vacated by June 30, 2020. Before that, however, there will be a demobilization of the workers.

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Four options were presented to the workers. The first is that the civil servant themselves look for a position in another state (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Espírito Santo) in the internal job bank. If found, they must submit their resume and, if accepted, finalize the transfer.

“If the person is already retired, there is the possibility of a PDV (Voluntary Dismissal Plan) for retirees. It is a plan where Petrobras provides financial incentives for the person to retire,” explains the communication director of Sindipetro-BA, Radiovaldo Costa.

The other option is the Agreed Dismissal Plan, provided by labor reform. In this case, the company informs the employee of its interest in terminating their employment, as long as they agree. Finally, a specific PDV for Torre Pituba was created, which is set to be launched in October and can involve any worker – not just those close to retirement.

However, there is no history of collective dismissals at Petrobras, nor of employee turnover. This is because, although employees do not have stability, they have, in collective agreement, a clause that guarantees employment.

In other words: if, for some reason, a unit reduces activities, for example, the company must reallocate the employees from that branch through training, qualifications, and placement in units in other parts of Brazil, with the aim of avoiding any type of dismissal.

The only case of collective dismissal, according to Sindipetro-BA, occurred in 1990, during the government of Fernando Collor. However, the dismissals were reversed. Furthermore, even if Petrobras wants to dismiss an employee, there is a procedure: the state-owned company must establish a committee, present motivation, and the worker has the right to defend themselves.

This Monday, 22, oil workers, civil society entities, mayors, and Bahia lawmakers participated in a public act for Petrobras to remain in Bahia, at the State Legislative Assembly.

This Wednesday, 24, union leaders went to Rio de Janeiro to meet with unions from other states and with the Unique Federation of Oil Workers (FUP).

After the activities in the building, the movement is expected to extend to other units in Bahia, according to Sindipetro-BA. Today, according to the entity, the company has 20,000 employees in 21 cities in Bahia.

The union entities are expected to announce all the directions that have been defined for the category by Friday, 27. According to Radiovaldo Costa, a strike is not ruled out.

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