Brazil Post granted partial injunction against partial strike
Brazil Post has been granted a court injunction in its battle against striking postal workers in 13 states — but the ruling stopped short of suspending strike action completely. The state-owned national postal operator in Brazil asked for the country’s highest labour court to intervene in the partial shutdown. Strike action taken in protest at changes to the Post’s healthcare plan has affected postal services in 13 states since 29th January.
The Superior Labour Court (TST) in Brasilia heard the arguments on Friday, but its judge Márcio Eurico Vitral Amaro decided that the Post’s request did not justify a total suspension of the strike prior to a full trial over the conflict between Brazil Post and the unions.
Brazil Post had wanted the court to order at least 80% of workers back to work.
Instead, the TST ruled that Brazil’s federation of postal workers, Fentect, must ensure at least 40% of postal workers turn up for work in the affected states, or face a daily fine of BRL 50,000 ($20,868 USD).
Judge Eurico decided the industrial action “endangers the pressing needs of the population” in causing disruption to mail services, but said his ruling “balances the legitimate exercise of the right to strike with the needs of the population”.
However, Eurico decided that Brazil Post’s demand for at least 80% of workers to be compelled to work would undermine the “fundamental right” of employees to strike.
A court date has not yet been set for a full trial regarding the dispute between Fentect and Brazil Post.
Extra shifts
Brazil Post took the positives from the TST ruling on Friday, and pointed out that the court also decided last week to ban union access to employees in the workplace in the states of Amazonas, Paraíba, Piauí and Rio Grande do Sul.
According to a survey from Brazil Post, about 5% of its workers in all were involved in the strike, about 6,300 people. The company said on Friday that all of its post offices continued to be open, with services including express offerings still available other than certain delivery-by-appointment services in some locations.
Where stoppages were seen, however, the company said there was some delays in its letters and parcel services, particularly because the striking workers tended to be mail delivery staff. About 5,564 of the total 22,522 mail delivery staff in the affected areas were on strike.
Over the weekend, Brazil Post ran extra shifts in areas affected by the partial shutdown in order to shift the delivery backlogs. The company also relocated staff from other districts to the affected areas in order to catch up on its mail delivery there.
Strike action ongoing since the end of January has been the result of workers protesting the transfer of Brazil Post’s healthcare funding programme to a new agency, concerned that workers had been facing new costs.
Brazil Post reiterated that there would be no change to its health plan for workers with the new management of the CorreiosSaúde (PostalHealth) plan. No fees will be charged for registered dependents and the plan will not be privatised, it said.
