The court suspended injunction the dismissal of 420 employees of Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial, a Brazilian manufacturer of war and defense equipment. The terminations took place on March 18, 2022, on the same date on which the company filed a request for judicial recovery. The decision, by the labor judge of the 1st Labor Court of Jacareí (SP), Adhemar Prisco da Cunha Neto, was published yesterday (3).
“I grant urgent relief to suspend the contractual breach of the 420 terminated employees, to immediately declare the contractual obligations re-established, with retroactive effect to March 18, 2022”, reads the decision.
The action against the dismissal of employees was filed by the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos e Região. “Collective bargaining would be essential for mass layoffs. This argument was used by the Union [na ação] to request the cancellation of cuts. Before announcing the mass dismissal, Avibras did not make any negotiations to seek solutions that would preserve the workers’ employment”, the union said in a statement.
Last month, the union started a campaign for the nationalization of Avibras. “A company like Avibras, which is strategic for the country, cannot be left in the hands of private capital. The defense sector depends on government resources and the main beneficiaries are the shareholders. The Federal Government has a duty to start the process of nationalizing Avibras”, said the union’s president, Weller Gonçalves.
Avibras was contacted, but has not yet commented on the court decision.
