The Regional Labor Court of the 15th Region (TRT-15), responsible for labor proceedings in the interior of São Paulo, registered in 2023 a increase of 6.3% in the number of lawsuits related to work accidents and 9% regarding occupational illnesses. See numbers:
Work accident processes:
- 2022: 18,381 new processes
- 2023: 19,548 new processes (+6.3%)
Occupational illness processes:
- 2022: 17,580 new processes
- 2023: 19,168 new processes (+9%)
But why do workers have accidents or become more ill at work? According to judge Marina Zerbinatti, regional manager of the Safe Work Program in the first instance of TRT-15, the main reason for this growth is the precariousness of labor relations, caused by some factors. Look:
- Outsourcing of core activity: Workers who are not part of the parent company are generally not instructed in the same way about health and safety procedures at work, and are therefore more susceptible to accidents and illness.
- Increased work platformization: transport or app delivery workers who, although they do not yet have their own legislation, are frequent victims of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses.
- New ways of working: where the worker becomes hyper-connected and is unable to separate work, leisure and family time and, as a result, ends up becoming more stressed.
- Informality still high in some areas: common, mainly in domestic work, in the care sector and on rural properties.
“There is still greater awareness, and it is desirable that there be, of rights”, added Zerbinatti.
According to the judge, within the occupational diseases section two categories of illnesses lead proceedings in the labor court.
- Mental disorders: burnout, depression, anxiety and stress caused by pressure at work and/or moral and sexual harassment in the workplace.
- Musculoskeletal disorders: injuries to muscles, tendons, joints, bones and nerves caused, for example, by repetitive work, common in industries.
At the Campinas Labor Forum, responsible only for the metropolis, the number of actions on the two themes grew percentage in 2023 above average of the TRT-15. See data:
Work accident processes in Campinas
- 2022: 1,357
- 2023: 1,481 (+9.1%)
Processes regarding occupational illness in Campinas
- 2022: 1,896
- 2023: 2,124 (12.0%)
For Zerbinatti, who is also head of a Labor Court in the metropolis, Campinas is a city with big companies (which outsource more), there is diversity of professional activities (from industry to the transport sector) and concentrates more workers per application than smaller cities, so had an increase above the Court’s average.
As part of April Green activities, the month to prevent workplace accidents, TRT-15 lit up its judicial and administrative headquarters in green. In Campinas, the City Hall and the Castle Tower are also illuminated.
Faced with the increase in work accidents, the Labor Court has implemented the Safe Work Program (PTS), a national project with the objective of preventing work accidents.
In the program, a series of measures are taken so that workplace accidents are prevented and, when they happen, that actions on the subject are processed quickly and effectively.
“The aim is to shed light on the problem. It is an opportunity for the Judiciary to take action to prevent an accident or illness before it occurs”, explained judge Marina Zerbinatti.
Between 2012 and 2022, 6.7 million work accidents were reported in Brazil, with 25.5 thousand deaths.
VIDEOS: everything about Campinas and the region
Tags: Precariousness increases legal actions work accidents occupational diseases interior Campinas Region
