Teachers who were working in Reading Rooms and were removed from their role after medical leave between June and September this year must be readmittedaccording to an urgent injunction issued by the 8th Public Finance Court of the state of São Paulo.
The decision won the case for the Union of Official Education Teachers of the State of São Paulo (Apeoesp), and expanded the previous decision, which already prohibited dismissals. The Department of Education stopped taking leave from October 3rd, but the injunction extended the decision by 120 days, which affects at least 600 teachers who had to take leave for health reasons, according to the workers’ representation.
The decision by magistrate Josué Vilela Pimentel calls for the immediate reinstatement of professionals, establishing a daily fine of R$1,000 per teacher, limited to R$50,000.
For Apeoesp, the decision recognizes that absences for health reasons cannot lead to punishment or dismissal of teachers and expands the previous decision, going back four months to prevent the secretariat from voiding the previous decision, by maintaining the punishment for professionals.
“Such interpretation undermines the effectiveness of the protection granted and violates basic principles of procedural and constitutional law. The anticipatory provision seeks precisely to avoid irreparable or difficult-to-repair injuries, with its temporal limitation making no sense when identical factual situations occurred in the immediately previous period. (…) The simple declaration that medical leaves are part of the Resolution’s exceptions means nothing if already harmed teachers remain away”, considers the judge, in cars.
“For Apeoesp, the decision represents an important legal precedent and an affirmation of human and labor rights, especially in a context of overload and illness in the category”, states the union, in a statement.
Reading Rooms
Reading Rooms are special teaching spaces, accessible after the teacher presents a teaching project to the school community. The measure of leave after leave has been in place for more than a decade and its criteria have varied depending on management’s understanding.
The program serves, in the state network, students in elementary, secondary and Youth and Adult Education (EJA), using the unit’s own collection, including for loan to students. In many communities, it represents the only public library accessible to families.
According to the Department of Education website, more than three thousand schools have the program in the state, with almost six thousand professionals, including teachers and librarians.
The state network has 15 days to comply with the injunction, dated October 17th.
Wanted by Brazil Agencythe Department of Education has not yet commented.
