During the election period, work relations can be impacted by inadequate practices which violate workers’ rights, such as electoral harassment. In order to face this problem, Labor Justice has launched the campaign “Your Vote, Your Voice – Electoral Harassment in the workplace is a crime”, which will be promoted by labor courts all over the country, in collaboration with the Electoral Justice and Public Ministry, and with the Public Ministry of Labor. The campaign has as its main goal raising awareness to workers and voters about the electoral limits in the workplace, to preserve democracy and the citizens freedom of choice.
The president of the Superior Labor Court (TST) and of the Superior Council of Labor Justice (CSJT), the minister Lelio Bentes Corrêa, has emphasized the importance of the campaign to protect work relations and secure the candor of the election process. The campaign includes not only awareness raising, but also the implementation of concrete measures to restrain infractions, such as the designation of “on duty” magistrates to act throughout the electoral period.
Electoral harassment, as defined by the Resolution CSJT 355/2023, occurs when a worker is subjected to coercion, intimidation, threats, humiliation or embarrassment in the workplace, with the intention of influencing or manipulating their vote, support or political manifestation. Furthermore, electoral harassment also manifests when there’s discrimination, exclusion or preference for a worker due to their political convictions, including in the admission process.
The Labor Justice campaign includes the creation of a national network of magistrates in the 24 Regional Labor Courts to act in cooperation with the Electoral Justice and the Public Ministry. Since 2023, the CSJT has been regulating nationally the administrative procedures to be adopted in court cases related to electoral harassment in the workplace, including the availability of reporting channels on the courts’ portals.
A technological innovation developed by the Regional Labor Court of the 9th Region (PR) has assisted in the automatic identification of court cases involving electoral harassment. Through a robot created in “Project Solaria”, all the plaintiffs’ complaints are analyzed, and when there’s relevance to the subject, an alert is emitted to the corresponding judiciary units. This technology, which has been in operation since June of 2024, has sped up the court processing and contributed to the effective combat against electoral harassment.
The campaign “Your vote, your voice” represents a significant effort by Labor Justice to guarantee that the workplace remains free of coercive practices during the electoral period. The initiative not only promotes awareness about the rights and duties of employers and workers but also implements technological and administrative mechanisms to identify and restrain electoral harassment. In this way, the campaign reinforces the importance of preserving democracy and the integrity of the electoral process, ensuring that each citizen’s vote is exercised freely and consciously.
It’s important to highlight that, in all environments, but mostly where labor relations occur, there is a need to always preserve the respect of others’ opinions / political biases, even if they are contrary to the individual’s perceptions of right and wrong, since it is a fundamental right, which requires utmost caution on the employer’s part to uphold and protect.