Brazil’s Postal Service Workers Announce Nationwide Strike

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The National Federation of Workers in Postal and Similar Companies (FENTECT) resolved to strike against state-owned company Correios, as of 10 PM Monday, August 17th. According to the organization, there is no deadline for the strike to end.

According to the federation, the strikers are against privatizing the state-owned company, they complain about what they refer to as “neglect of workers’ health” in the pandemic and demand that labor rights be guaranteed.

The federation states that since July the unions have been trying to meet with the Correios board about these demands, which, according to them, has not occurred. They claim that they were surprised in August with the repeal of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that would be in force until 2021.

According to a text published on the federation’s website, “70 clauses, with rights such as 30 percent of risk premium, food allowance, 180-day maternity leave, day-care allowance, compensation in case of death, assistance for children with special needs, extra night pay and overtime were removed.”

Another motive for the strike is the potential privatization of the Correios and the “increased participation of workers in the Health Plan, leading to widespread circumvention, and the disregard and neglect for the health and life of workers in the Covid-19 pandemic.”

In a statement published on the FENTECT website, the federation’s secretary general, José Rivaldo da Silva, states that “the Bolsonaro government seeks to sell one of the great assets of Brazilians, the Correios, at any cost. We are responsible for one of the country’s essential services, which has a proven profit, and areas such as e-commerce services that are growing sharply and working as an important means to leverage the economy. Privatizing is preventing thousands of people from having access to this service throughout the country, from north to south, at a much lower cost than other companies.”

Source: G1

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