Employee dismissed during the dictatorship is reinstated at Itaipu – 07/10/2023 – Market

Itaipu Binacional announced this Monday (10th) the reinstatement of Sonia Lúcia Castanheira, a translator and secretary who was fired for political reasons in 1977, during the Brazilian military dictatorship, to its staff.

The repair takes place 46 years after the professional resigned, “under suspicion of subversive activities”, from the company that manages one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world.

According to Sônia, the dismissal was ordered by the government of General João Baptista Figueiredo and occurred without explanation. “I was fired without knowing if I had made a mistake, if it was because of my performance. Only in 2009, with the opening of the archives of the military dictatorship, did I discover that the cause was political”, said Sonia in a note released by the company.

Sonia’s husband, Dario Anibal Galindo, an employee of a service provider in Itaipu, had been fired a year earlier, in 1976.

“A woman accused us of being involved in activities contrary to repression. We never did anything”, she said, who believes that one of the reasons for the political persecution would be the fact that she lived in the Residential Complex of the University of São Paulo (USP ) in 1965, the year in which the student movement went on strike in protest of the increase in the price of meals and housing.

Sonia had access to a complete report in 2012 and filed a labor lawsuit with the 1st Labor Court in Foz do Iguaçu, seeking recognition of her employment relationship with Itaipu. A judgment favorable to the plaintiff was granted in 2017 by Labor Judge Erica Yumi Okimura. Itaipu had appealed the decision at the time, but has now complied with the court order.

In addition to her reinstatement at Itaipu, Sonia will also receive compensation from the company and will be entitled to benefits such as medical and dental care, the company said.

Enio Verri, Brazilian director general of Itaipu, stated that Sonia’s reinstatement is a mark in the company’s history, which currently reflects a Brazilian state “marked by the presence of a democratic government, concerned with preserving history and strengthening democracy”.