SAO PAULO, Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Eternit,
(BM&FBOVESPA: ETER3, OTC: ETNTY) founded 73 years ago, market
leader in the Brazilian roofing segment, with a significant
presence in the bathroom chinaware and metal bathroom fittings
segments and a manufacturer of components for construction systems,
hereby announces to the market that, the ruling of
groundlessness by the Supreme Tribunal with respect to the public
lawsuit filed in 2004 (04.043.728-0) by the Public Ministry of the
State of Sao Paulo, has been
upheld and declared definitive.
The appeal court judges of the 32nd Sao Paulo Justice Tribunal Chamber have ruled
that the Company rigorously complied with the legislation with
respect to the health and safety of its employees, as determined by
Federal Law 9055/95, Decree 2350/97 and the Regulatory Norms of the
Ministry for Labour and Employment. This being the case, they
denied the request for compensation for any sickness of former
employees of the Osasco manufacturing plant in the State of Sao Paulo, the activities of which
ceased in 1993, thus ruling against the position held by the
Public Ministry that Eternit could be held to account for blame or
omission.
On August 23, 2013, the Public
Labour Ministry filed a further public lawsuit against the Company,
based on the same facts and with a similar objective.
The Company emphasises its belief in Brazilian justice and hopes
that the technical and scientific evidence will be considered in
the ongoing judgement on this case, with a refusal to succumb to
pressure groups in favour of the banning of chrysotile asbestos,
based purely on the unsuccessful experience in Europe.
IR Team Contact - +55 (11) 3038-3818 / 3194-3881