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Health Professionals Onboard Report Drastic Changes to Original Roles, Imposed Without Dialogue. A Silent Alert Spreads Across the Basin of Campos, Revealing Internal Tensions, Emotional Overload, and Unilateral Decisions That Affect the Routine of Technicians.
Professionals report pressure, emotional exhaustion, and transformation of the technical role into hotel inspection functions, without dialogue or negotiation with the category.
Nursing technicians working on the platforms in the Basin of Campos are reporting an alarming practice: the diversion of functions promoted by the operating companies, which have been transforming these health professionals into hotel inspectors.
The situation has been brought to the North Fluminense Oil Workers’ Union (Sindipetro-NF), which promises to demand formal explanations from the responsible management.
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According to the union’s inquiry, reports indicate that the change in responsibilities has occurred unilaterally, without any type of negotiation or prior clarification.
Technicians report being surprised by changes in function, transfers between units, and operational impositions that completely disregard the legal limits of the professional activity for which they were hired.
From Care to Accommodation Inspection
According to a complaint received by the Health Department of Sindipetro-NF, the management’s objective is to force a reconfiguration of the onboard teams, replacing technicians with outsourced nurses and shifting the former to hotel inspection functions on the platforms.
The decision, according to the workers, is arbitrary and is being implemented without any consultation or participation from those affected.
“We are being pushed from one side to the other, with no respect for our training or role. We are not hotel inspectors; we are nursing technicians and want to practice what we have studied and done for years,” reported workers under condition of anonymity.
The situation described reveals a concerning picture of professional devaluation.
Technicians with public sector jobs report being overlooked in favor of outsourced nurses, in a move that not only undermines labor rights but compromises the quality and continuity of health care in offshore units.
Illness and Demotivation Grow
Another serious issue raised by workers is the emotional impact caused by the arbitrary changes.
The insecurity generated by the lack of clarity about roles, schedules, and workplaces has contributed to a process of silent illness.
“Many colleagues have given up on boarding. They are getting sick. After everything we did during the pandemic, now we are being treated as disposable,” they affirm.
As reported by the whistleblowers, during the most critical periods of the Covid-19 pandemic, these same nursing technicians were essential to keep health services running on the platforms.
Now, they feel that their dedication has been ignored. “Where is the respect for those who were on the front lines?” they question.
Discouragement is growing, according to the union.
What was once a role recognized for its importance in occupational health is now subject to restructurings that could even compromise the safety of onboard workers.
Online Training and Increased Workload
The company’s proposal is to begin the transition to this new inspection role, starting with the P-51 platform.
To this end, a training course will be offered in an online Distance Learning format.
However, professionals claim that the content is generic and insufficient to support the practical demands of the new activity.
Additionally, the return to a 5/2 schedule has been announced, in which five Occupational Health Technicians (TET) will be responsible for covering two platforms, creating even more overload.
This schedule, besides being exhausting, contradicts the ideal operational conditions for those working onboard offshore units.
According to specialists consulted by the report, this practice constitutes a clear diversion of function, which can have legal implications for both the involved companies and the health and safety of workers.
Brazilian legislation stipulates that functions must be performed according to contractual qualifications and that changes cannot be imposed without collective negotiation.
Union Demands Dialogue and Respect for Legislation
The Sindipetro-NF, responsible for representing workers in the category, reinforced its commitment to seek explanations from management and ensure that any functional changes are conducted transparently and negotiated with professionals.
For the union, it is not only a labor dispute but a matter involving dignity, mental health, and valuation of the profession.
“We will not accept the decharacterization of the nursing technician’s role. They have been and continue to be fundamental pieces in the health structure of the platforms. Replacing them with hotel inspectors is reducing the importance of human care in the name of operational logic,” declared a representative of the entity.
The situation in the Basin of Campos, one of the most important oil-producing regions in the country, takes on even graver contours given the history of accidents and the need to maintain strict health and safety standards in the offshore environment.
Any alteration that reduces the presence of specialized technical personnel in these units represents a collective risk.
Impacts May Reach Labor Justice
Labor law experts warn that if the practice continues, there may be a flood of lawsuits.
“Diversion of function is not just an administrative infraction; it has legal and financial repercussions. Companies may be ordered to pay compensation and even respond for moral damages,” explains attorney Luciana Rezende, a labor law consultant.
According to her, the case also opens the door for the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) to intervene if there are indications of collective harm to the category.
The scenario, therefore, demands attention from authorities and a firm response from society.
Valuing health professionals, especially those working in extreme environments like offshore platforms, must be a priority in any management model.
And what do you think about the diversion of function of health professionals? Should the category accept changes without negotiation? Comment below and join the discussion!
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