Court prohibits Senar-DF from promoting electoral campaign among workers

The Public Ministry of Labor in the Federal District and Tocantins (MPT-DF/TO) obtained an injunction this Thursday (1st) that prohibits the National Rural Learning Service in the Federal District (Senar-DF) from promoting an electoral campaign among its workers.

According to the action, Senar-DF employees received an invitation, through institutional channels, to participate in the "Agro Lunch" event, on the 26th, with the presence of candidates for the 2026 elections.

In the decision, judge Mariana Nascimento Ferreira, from the 6th Labor Court of Brasília, foresees a daily fine of R$10,000 in case of non-compliance, plus R$1,000 per affected worker.

g1 tried to contact Senar-DF, but did not receive a response until the last update of this report. In the action, Senar-DF claimed that the event was an initiative of local rural producers, without institutional organization or direct funding by the institution.

"The event took place in an environment outside the institution's headquarters, without the nature of a mandatory call, supporting the non-occurrence of a service order, attendance inspection, coercive approach, threat, calculation in a time bank or functional penalties", the defense also pointed out in the process.

Decision

The MPT complaint points out that "people reported discomfort and fear of not attending", in addition to "the use of workers in setting up the event and the promise of credit in the time bank for participating in the lunch".

In the decision, the judge emphasizes that "the institutional space of the company or entity cannot be converted into an instrument of party co-optation, voter targeting or electoral constraint, under penalty of an intolerable abuse of rights."

"The use of the internal structure, corporate channels and hierarchical authority to promote events with candidates supported by the productive sector, combined with the control of confirmation of presence and the promise of calculation in time banks, is a typical maneuver of electoral harassment in labor relations", he highlighted.

Also as determined by the Labor Court, Senar-DF must:

refrain from promoting any institutional event for political-electoral demonstrations;

refrain from facilitating the participation of candidates, pre-candidates or campaign supporters in activities with employees;

refrain from using physical facilities, movable assets, material resources, corporate communication channels or labor for electoral propaganda aimed at workers;

refrain from granting working hours compensation, credit in time banks as compensation for presence at electoral events;

disclose, within 48 hours, the decision of the 6th Labor Court of Brasília.

MPT-DF/TO also asks for R$200,000 in collective moral damages. This request must still be analyzed by the Court.