Union group rejects Brazilian government offer over postal strike
Unions in Brazil have refused to end strike action affecting postal services in 13 states, after a request by the government’s Deputy Attorney General of Labour to suspend action until a labour court can resolve the current dispute. Yesterday saw the National Federation of Postal Workers (Fentect) appearing at a conciliation hearing at the Superior Labour Court (TST) in Brasilia, to discuss proposals for striking postal staff to go back to work and allow the courts to decide on the dispute over healthcare funding.
Fentect rejected the proposed offer, which could have seen striking workers required to make up only half their strike days when the dispute is over.
Brazil Post reported last night that the umbrella group for the nation’s regional postal unions had rejected to suspend strike action even at the insistence of the Ministry of Labour.
José da Silva Neto, the Deputy Attorney General of Labour, said he did not understand what the union wanted, since its complaints were already due to be reviewed by the TST, the country’s top labour court.
Brazil Post said Silva had questioned several times whether the union’s strategy was the right one, and that he warned the union of the risks it is running by continuing strike action.
“The Labour Court will decide who is in the right,” he said. “Prolonging this strike can only damage the unions if this action is deemed abusive.”
“Instead of striking, you should have talked to the judge in the 6th court. Now that the TST is proceeding, it will hardly be to your benefit if workers have to make up these days — the union will not come out very well.”
Strike
Strike action has been causing delivery delays in 13 Brazilian states since the end of January. Brazil Post has been transferring workers in from other areas to cover for striking staff as well as organising extra shifts at weekends to help deal with the backlog, delivering around 4.3m letters and parcels during weekends.
The dispute involves union groups protesting the transfer of Brazil Post’s healthcare funding system to a new management agency, claiming that it means new fees for workers.
Brazil Post has said no changes are being made in its CorreiosSaúde (PostalHealth) plan following the transfer to the arms-length organisation Postal Saúde.
The state-owned national postal company said there was now no possibility of agreement with Fentect since it had spurned the government proposal, and has also been refusing to participate in meetings with Postal Saúde.
The case remains to be heard by the TST’s Collective Bargaining Section, but a hearing date is yet to be scheduled.
Last week judge Marcio Eurico banned Brazil Post from docking employees’ wages during strike action, requiring the company to return pay docked already. The TST judge accepted arguments from Fentect that wage-cuts disrupted the right of workers to strike.
