THE BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT AND LABOR MATTERS AND THE HYPOTHESIS OF A LATE OPENING TO SOCIAL PARTICIPATION: an analysis based on the public hearings in Themes 1291 and 1389

análise a partir das audiências públicas dos Temas 1291 e 1389

Abstract

The article examines the hypothesis that the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) is opening itself to social dialogue in labor matters in light of recent public hearings, following a series of decisions aimed at deregulating the exploitation of the workforce and flexibilizing labor legislation. The research problem is as follows: do the recent public hearing experiences in Themes 1291 and 1389 indicate an opening of the STF to democratic participation in its decision-making process?

The article aims to explain the context of the STF’s decision-making in labor matters, situated within a movement of deregulation and flexibilization of legislation, and then to describe the experiences of the only two public hearings held thus far by the Court. It also seeks to address the semantics of public hearings within judicial expansion, examining questions concerning the procedures and purposes of these experiences. Finally, it intends to analyze whether the hearing experiences point to a belated opening of the Court to social dialogue, in an effort to answer the proposed research problem. Adopting an inductive approach, the research begins with a documentary analysis of secondary data on the public hearings, using the materials made available by the STF in the judicial proceedings of each Theme, especially the decisions related to the convening and procedural definition of the hearings. In a second stage, a literature review is conducted to investigate and interpret the findings of the first stage, and, in a third stage, the analysis corresponding to the third objective mentioned above is carried out.