Driver of a truck with a supplementary tank will receive hazard pay

The Sixth Panel of the Superior Labor Court added to the sentence imposed on the transport company, from Benevides (PA), the payment of additional hazard pay to a driver who was driving a truck with an additional fuel tank with a capacity of more than 200 liters. For the Class, even if the fuel is used to supply the vehicle itself, the right to receive the additional amount is due.

Factory originals

In the labor complaint, the driver said that he was transporting drinks, leaving Belém for several cities in the Northeast (São Luis, Teresina, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, etc.), where he took empty containers and brought them back full. During the course of the contract, he had driven two brands of truck, both with two original factory tanks: a Man, with 520 and 330 liter tanks, totaling 850 liters, and a Volvo, with 547 and 373 liter tanks, totaling 920 liters. In his opinion, this would be enough for him to be entitled to the hazard pay provided.

Own consumption

When judging the request, both the first degree court and the Regional Labor Court of the 8th Region (PA/AP) denied the right to the additional benefit. According to the TRT, the quantities of flammable substances in the vehicles' own consumption tanks should not be considered when characterizing dangerousness, “without considering that the quantity of fuel would probably decrease during the journey”. The decision also considered that the tanks were original from the factory. 

Supplementary tank 

The rapporteur of the driver's review appeal, Minister Kátia Arruda, pointed out that the TST jurisprudence considers that workers who drive a vehicle equipped with a supplementary fuel tank with a capacity exceeding 200 liters are entitled to hazard pay, even for refueling. and own consumption. The situation, according to this understanding, falls within the provisions of Regulatory Standard 16 of the extinct Ministry of Labor (current Special Secretariat for Social Security and Labor), as it is equivalent to the transport of flammable materials.