Court orders GM to reinstate part of workers fired by telegrams and emails

The Labor Court ordered this Tuesday (31) that the automaker General Motors reinstate 839 workers who were recently fired by telegrams and emails in São José dos Campos, in the state of São Paulo. The decision complied with an injunction requested by the city’s Metalworkers Union, which claimed that there had been a violation of the collective agreement.

In the decision of judge João Alberto Alves Machado, from TRT-15 (Regional Labor Court of the 15th Region), GM must reinstate workers with “prompt reinsertion on the payroll” and maintenance of all rights in force before the dismissals from from November 1st.

The judge also established that the automaker cannot make new layoffs and stipulated a daily fine of R$1,000 per worker dismissed in case of non-compliance with the decision.

The dismissals at GM took place on October 21 via emails and telegrams, and affected metalworkers at the plants in São José dos Campos, Mogi das Cruzes and São Caetano do Sul. Two days later, the workers went on strike demanding the revocation of the layoffs and job stability.

The vice-president of the union, Valmir Mariano, even declared “war” over the layoffs and said that GM “had cowardice and absolute disrespect for the workers and the signed agreement”.

The automaker confirmed the cuts at the time, but did not reveal the total number of workers laid off, and justified the layoffs by claiming a drop in sales and exports. According to the union, the layoff agreement approved in June established that around 1,200 workers at the unit should maintain job stability during the suspension of their contracts.

“The layoffs are canceled in São José dos Campos, and this is a very important step. We are in unity with the other two unions, São Caetano and Mogi das Cruzes, to reverse everything”, said Weller Gonçalves, president of the local union to Folha de São Paulo.

General Motors did not comment on the Labor Court’s decision.