In 2013, the Brazilian people celebrate the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Constitution and the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT).
The Consolidation, which represented undeniable progress for workers in the regulation of various rights and guarantees, bringing with it a blueprint for a labor process, was enshrined in the 1988 Constitution, confirming fundamental rights and the supremacy of the principles of human dignity and the social value of work.
With the advent of the latter, citizens now have access to a leading-edge, guarantee-based legislation, an example of ensuring adequate working conditions and respect for workers.
Paradoxically, we are now witnessing an attempt to dismantle this legal framework of guarantees through a proposal to make labor rights more flexible, through a broad outsourcing of services project (Bill No. 4.330/04), which, if approved, will result in the precariousness of these rights.
On the other hand, the legal community and legal professionals are grappling with the challenges of implementing legislation that is encountering resistance across a wide range of production sectors, all concerned with reducing costs and increasing their profit margins.
This wave is not isolated and is reinforced by the global crisis that is ravaging even the most advanced and developed economies, impacting the national economy through the contraction of multilateral trade.
This is the challenge facing Labor Judges and the Labor Court: reconciling the needs and demands of the market with ensuring compliance with labor protection legislation.
It is time to honor the instruments we have, working within a framework that enables responsible progress without compromising the historic achievements achieved over the past decades.
The compilation of articles, judgments, and rulings that comprise this edition of the "Labor Law and Procedure Journal" demonstrates the attention that labor judges, and legal practitioners in general, have given to this subject.
At this historic moment, ANAMATRA renews its commitment to preserving this legal heritage.
The Editorial Board