Og Fernandes has responded to AGU’s call to suspend the strike in the federal environmental area and plans to fine workers for non-compliance. Unions defend the movement
Minister Og Fernandes, Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ), decided this Thursday 4th to suspend the strike of the employees of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio).
Fernandes ordered the return of 100% of employees assigned to environmental licensing, management of conservation units, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, control and prevention of forest fires and environmental emergencies.
The judge responded to a request from the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) and also set a daily fine of R$ 200,000 in case of non-compliance. Fernandes made the decision considering “the essentiality of the activities carried out”.
The decision affects the Environmental Specialist career path, including the positions of Environmental Director, Administrative Director, Environmental Analyst, Administrative Analyst, Environmental Technician, Administrative Technician and Administrative Assistant.
“The tasks legally assigned to the aforementioned career include activities of the utmost importance for the promotion of public policies for the protection and defense of the environment, such as the regulation, management and organization of the use and access to environmental resources,” wrote the vice president of the STJ, who has been in charge of judicial functions since July 2.
Among the essential activities, he also cited positions related to “improvement of environmental quality and sustainable use of natural resources; environmental regulation, control, inspection, licensing and auditing; environmental monitoring; planning of forestry and fisheries resources; consideration of ecosystems and the species included in them, among others”.
In a petition filed on July 1, the first day of the strike, the AGU argued that the strike would be abusive in light of the federal government’s proposal, which has already granted a real adjustment to public employees’ salaries. Negotiations with environmental officials have been ongoing since October 2023.
Another argument of the Union is that it would compromise the environmental management of the conservation units, which would not be allowed given the essential nature of environmental protection. The AGU emphasized that the strike affected units in 25 states and the Federal District.
The strike was approved at the June 24 assembly. At the time, workers had agreed that 10% of employees would be retained in environmental licensing services and 100% of emergency response workers in conservation units, as well as full continuity of firefighting work by hired firefighters and supervisors.
Agência Brasil seeks to position the union entities activated by the AGU. They are: Confederation of Federal Public Service Workers (Condsef), National Association of Employees of the Career Plan and Special Positions of Environmental Specialists of the Ministry of Environment and Ibama (Ascema) and the Union of Federal Public Employees of the DF (Sindsep -DF).
This Thursday 4, the management of Ascema stated that the unions involved have not been informed, and therefore have not yet learned the full content of the decision, and will only be able to comment after having analyzed the document in its entirety.
In a joint statement dated Wednesday, March 3, before the decision, the unions said they were “following the process and working together to defend our wall movement, our entities and environmental employees.”
The text highlights what would be “the inconsistency between the discourse and the practice of this government. A few days ago, President Lula himself said “we will negotiate with all categories. No one will be punished in this country for striking. I was born on strike. It is a legitimate right.”
“We have a series of documents that can demonstrate that public officials have always been, and still are, willing to find a solution to the impasse, as well as evidence that clearly demonstrates that government representation has adopted an inflexible, unjustified and even persecutory attitude against employees in the environmental field,” the note from the agencies adds. /BRAZIL AGENCY
Source: Terra
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