The seventh body of the Supreme Labor Court upheld the legality of charging a monthly fee to fund the health plan of an employee of the Brazilian Postal and Telegraph Corporation (ECT).
The group highlighted the specificity of the process because, in this case, the contractual modification was based on a decision by the Specialized Division of Collective Bargaining (SDC) of TST, which, in judging the 2017/2018 Class Collective Bargaining Agreement, expressly authorized the collection of monthly payments.
In the labor suit, the employee claimed she was hired in 1997, through a public examination whose notice provided for the benefit of medical and dental care, without monthly fees, for employees and their families.
According to her, the system was participation-only (in which the employee bears part of the expenses arising from the use of the agreements), in accordance with the internal rules and the notice of competition, which were related to his employment contract.
In ruling the case, the Ninth District Regional Labor Court highlighted that the case for vested right to a free health care plan took on special features in the case of ECT, since the entitlement charging rules were modified on a normative basis by the TST.
According to TRT, the company submitted a collective bargaining agreement to review the cost line, because the health plan’s template was defective, leading to a backlog of negative results. In March 2018, TST’s Software Development Center, in its judgment (DC-100295-05.2017.5.00.0000), partially approved an ECT request to allow for the charging of monthly fees from users of Correios Saúde.
The grievance reporter through which the worker intends to re-discuss the case in TST, Minister Renato de Lacerda Paiva, confirmed that the new costing form of the health care plan was supported by the decision of the Medical Services Commission (TST) “with the aim of ensuring the continuity of the benefit offer and the existence of the company itself”.
According to the minister, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, when applying the new wording of the normative clause to the case, as well as the principle of the supremacy of the collective interest, considered the legal impossibility to question the matter decided by the TST.
The authority, after the decision’s vote, rejected the appeal, ruling out violations of the constitutional and legal provisions alleged by the employee. With information from the TST press office.
RR-367-84.2018.5.09.0012
Emily Brontë is a journalist and feature writer specialising in culture, entertainment, literature, and current affairs. She is dedicated to producing clear, accurate reporting that helps readers stay informed about developments in the UK and around the world.
