A autonomia da vontade em face da forma jurídica nas relações de trabalho

Abstract

Based on the rise of neoliberal rationality in labor relations, marked in the legal field by the overvaluation of autonomy of will and contractual freedom, this dissertation analyzes the functioning of autonomy of will in labor relations under the mediation of legal form, in light of the theory developed by Evguiéni B. Pachukanis. Legal form is understood as a historical construct, linked to categories such as legal subjects and contracts, determined by the material conditions of the mode of production, and not restricted to the normative plane. In this context, legal logic takes on multifaceted contours, insofar as the legitimization of contractual arrangements, although formally supported by the relative autonomy of contracting between the parties, tends to produce concrete effects of weakening labor guarantees. Thus, we investigate the extent to which the overlap of autonomy of will, mediated by legal form, contributes to the legitimization of the precariousness of labor relations in contemporary Brazil. After the theoretical contribution, the research analyzes the impacts of the normative transformations intensified by the 2017 Labor Reform, highlighting the centrality given to autonomy of will and its repercussions on the weakening of rights historically linked to labor protection. The analysis extends to contemporary reconfigurations of work, understood as expressions of its new morphology, in which autonomy plays a central role in the legal conformation of labor relations. It is argued that, although formally justified as appropriate, such reconfigurations have intensified legal uncertainty and limited the effectiveness of fundamental labor rights, especially in unstable forms of salaried work. To this end, the historical-dialectical materialist method of analysis is adopted, with a qualitative approach and bibliographic and documentary research, guided by contributions from Marxist criticism of law. The starting point is the assumption that the legal form, by adhering to the ideals of expanding autonomy in contractual labor relations, does not explicitly state the material conditions that restrict real autonomy, contributing to the reproduction of structural asymmetries. It concludes that freedom, as a substantial category of legal form, especially through autonomy of will, remains superimposed on a context of precarious work, presenting the limits and possibilities of labor law as an instrument of social protection.