Can Viih Tube and Eliezer be convicted of employee reality? Look
The MPT (Public Ministry of Labor) opened an investigation to investigate labor irregularities in the "employee reality" promoted by the influencer couple Viih Tube and Eliezer, former participants of BBB (Big Brother Brasil).
The case generated a great deal of negative repercussion on social media, after internet users criticized the couple for exploiting workers for entertainment. The "Mistresses" program consisted of a competition between the duo's domestic workers for money, reduced workload and other benefits.
"The most disgusting thing is rich people creating content based on the working class." "I find it very strange to turn an employee's routine into entertainment. There are things that don't need to become content", some users wrote online.
"The MPT in São Paulo became aware of the activity announced by the influencer in question through the press and opened proceedings to investigate the facts", stated the organization in a statement.
Amidst the controversy, social security and labor lawyer, Dr. Márcio Coelho commented on the case and the possibility of condemning the influencers for a program with employees. The expert clarifies that the consent of employees does not prevent the investigation of possible excesses in the employment relationship.
"The work of the Public Ministry of Labor normally begins when there is evidence that labor rights may have been violated", he explains. "It is not necessary for there to be an infraction that has already been proven. It is enough that there are elements that justify the investigation." In this case, he points out that the MPT highlighted the undue exposure of employees and the deviation from contracted activities, which could compromise the dignity and freedom of the workers involved.
"The objective of the investigation is precisely to clarify whether the dynamics of the reality show respected the limits of labor legislation", explained the lawyer.
After controversy, a group of employees from Viih Tube and Eliezer, then participants in the reality show "As Patroas (e o Patron)", said they were outraged by the cancellation of the product.
"Indignant because the poor can't have anything! They can't have the opportunity to have anything. You want to disrupt our reality show. We work happily here, we love what we do, we love our bosses, we are well looked after, we are well treated and, now, you want to cancel our reality show", said one of the employees in the video, identified as Ediléia Santana.
Despite consent, Coelho warns that this does not automatically make the practice legal. "In Labor Law there is an understanding that the relationship between employee and employer does not occur under conditions of equality, which is why consent needs to be analyzed within the context", he explains. In this context, the MPT wants to assess whether the worker really had the freedom to refuse participation without fear of suffering any type of professional harm.
If it is demonstrated that participation was spontaneous and without any type of prejudice to the worker's rights, this helps to "mitigate" the consequences of the investigation, but does not eliminate the possibility of conviction of the couple.
He adds that, among the main points that are usually analyzed, are the exposure of the worker's image, the preservation of their privacy, the existence of embarrassing or vexatious situations and the use of the employment relationship as a form of entertainment. "The greater the public exposure and the potential for embarrassment, the greater the attention from supervisory bodies tends to be", he concludes.
The lawyer ends by evaluating the importance of the episode to alert companies, influencers and employers that use employees to produce content for social networks: "The fact that a work environment generates entertainment content does not preclude the application of labor legislation. Whenever employees participate, it is necessary to ensure that their rights are preserved, that adherence is truly voluntary and that there is no form of exposure capable of compromising their dignity."
How did "reality" work?
The first episode of the reality show, called "As Patroas", was released last Tuesday (30) and would be shown every Tuesday and Saturday. On social media, Viih even explained that it was her idea and that her husband, Eliezer, 36, loved the dynamic. She highlighted, in a video published on her Instagram account, that employees who refused to participate would automatically be "eliminated".
At each dynamic, employees competed for cash prizes worth between R$1,000 and R$3,000 and points, which, according to the influencer, whoever accumulates the most, wins the reality show and earns another R$20,000, in addition to the accumulated value.
Even with the videos down, internet users continue to write criticisms of the dynamics in the influencer's other publications. "How bizarre and even more bizarre is that people here think everything is fine, not seeing any problem with this type of 'entertainment'. What dark times!", lamented one. "Didn't she consult a lawyer before doing this "reality"?" asked another.
Eliezer shows breastfeeding from Viih Tube and is criticized for his speech
Source: CNN