The Parliamentary Agricultural Front (FPA) released a statement to the professional press expressing its profound dismay and perplexity at the complete veto of Bill 715/2023, known as the Seasonal Workers Bill. The decision disregards the reality of the Brazilian countryside, penalizes workers seeking to enter the formal market, and hinders the hiring of labor in a sector that is strategic for food security and the national economy. The veto creates a false opposition between social protection and formal work. The bill does not remove rights, does not create new benefits, and does not weaken the social safety net. On the contrary, it allows temporary workers to accept formal opportunities during the harvest season without fear of immediately losing access to social programs. The justification of alleged affront to the public interest and unconstitutionality is unsustainable given the purpose of the proposal. The text approved by the National Congress promotes productive inclusion, formalization of work, income generation, and legal security, in line with the constitutional principles of valuing work, free enterprise, and reducing inequalities. In practice, the veto maintains a distortion that pushes workers into informality and exacerbates the shortage of temporary labor in the countryside. Preventing Brazilians from supplementing their income with formal work does not serve the public interest; it reduces opportunities, increases insecurity, and compromises the efficiency of national production. Social policy and labor are not opposing paths. Brazil needs to encourage those who want to work, expand formalization, and create conditions for the countryside to continue producing, generating employment, and guaranteeing food for the population. In its statement, the FPA (Brazilian Parliamentary Front for Agriculture) informs that it will launch a mobilization in the National Congress to overturn the veto.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.