Port workers in Santos go on strike.
“The ports are 100% paralyzed because the government has not heeded our amendments,” said the president of the National Federation of Stevedores, Wilton Ferreira Barreto; the protest, according to him, aims to make the government understand “the need to consider our amendments”; according to Força Sindical, the understanding of the sector's unions linked to the central organization is that the Provisional Measure “could break the system of public ports in Brazil and worsen working conditions in the ports.”
Elaine Patricia Cruz
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Sao Paulo - With the aim of pressuring Congress and the federal government for changes favorable to workers in the discussion of Provisional Measure (MP) 595/2012, known as the Ports MP, workers at the Port of Santos went on strike this afternoon (14).
The strike is for an indefinite period and began around 13 p.m., according to reports. Agency Brazil The president of the National Federation of Stevedores, Wilton Ferreira Barreto, stated that workers at the ports of Paranaguá (PR) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ) are also on strike.
"The ports have completely stopped their activities because the government has not heeded our amendments," he told [the press]. Agency BrazilThe protest, according to him, aims to make the government understand "the need to consider our amendments."
One of the demands is that the Ports Provisional Measure guarantees workers registered with the Labor Management Organization (Ogmo) the right to work in private ports and that workers in the sector receive special retirement benefits.
According to Força Sindical, the understanding of the sector's unions affiliated with the central organization is that the Provisional Measure "could break the system of public ports in Brazil and worsen working conditions in the ports."
"The government had committed to several changes requested by workers and now it is backtracking," said federal deputy Paulo Pereira da Silva (PDT-SP), president of Força Sindical, via the union's website.
Sought by Agency BrazilThe São Paulo State Dock Company (Codesp), which manages the Port of Santos, reported that activity at the port began around 14:30 PM and that, so far, this has partially affected the operations of one vessel.