Teachers remain in the Chamber and will resist the Military Police.
The decision was made at a meeting of the professionals who have been occupying the plenary hall of the Goiânia Legislative Assembly since the 10th; a court ruling sets a deadline of 16 PM for the repossession of the premises, with the use of police force if necessary; protesters affirm that they will only leave the plenary hall peacefully if Mayor Paulo Garcia (PT) effectively negotiates with the group; “The workers decided to maintain the strike and the occupation. And if police officers come to remove us by force, we will resist. This does not mean that we will attack police officers or use violence, but the alternative of leaving the building voluntarily is ruled out,” declared the coordinator of Simsed, Renato Regis.
Alex Rodrigues - Reporter for Agência Brasil
The deadline set by the Crisis Management Committee of the Goiás Public Security Secretariat for the group of municipal education workers to leave the Goiânia City Council building peacefully ends at 16 pm this Tuesday (24). On strike since May 26, the educators linked to the Municipal Union of Education Workers of Goiânia (Simsed) occupied the building on the 10th, preventing plenary sessions from taking place there.
Despite the possibility that, after the deadline set by the committee, the Security Secretariat will authorize the Military Police to use force to enforce the court order for repossession granted by the Court of Justice of Goiás on the 12th, union leaders affirm that the group will not leave the site until the city hall presents a proposal that addresses the category's demands. This morning, the workers held an assembly and decided to remain in the Chamber's plenary hall.
“The workers have decided to maintain the strike and the occupation. And if police officers come to remove us by force, we will resist. Which doesn't mean we will attack police officers or use violence, but the alternative of leaving the building voluntarily is ruled out,” declared Renato Regis, coordinator of Simsed, to Agência Brasil.
During the assembly, a group of strikers went to an auditorium in the building where council members have been holding their regular sessions. The protesters only left after the session was suspended and promised to return if the council members meet again.
In an attempt to force the occupiers to leave the Chamber, some measures were adopted such as the interruption of the water and electricity supply. Last Friday (20), however, the measures were cancelled without having the expected effect. Only the air conditioning in the plenary remains off. The educators take turns occupying the building and have intensified their criticism of the president of the Chamber, Clécio Alves (PMDB), and the mayor Paulo Garcia (PT), whom they accuse of refusing to receive the representatives of the movement and negotiate the demands of the category.
According to the Chamber's press office, the stance has been to seek dialogue, and at no point has Alves commented on the legitimacy of the educators' demands or on the mayor's position. "What the president [of the Chamber] has said is that if the protesters want his support, they must first vacate the building," the Chamber's communications director, Urias Júnior, told Agência Brasil.
Among the main demands of the category are: payment of retroactive salary floor and tenure increases, improvements in the infrastructure of public schools in Goiânia, reworking of the career plan, implementation of the transportation allowance, and a 30% bonus (retroactive to January of this year) for assistants. According to Simsed, which is not affiliated with any union federation and is still in the process of regularizing its union registration, most of the main demands were already included in an agreement signed with the city hall in 2013.
When contacted, the Goiânia city hall stated that it is open to dialogue, but that any agreement depends on the immediate return of the professionals to work. The city hall also reported that it has already sent responses to the demands of the striking movement to the State Secretariat of Public Security and the Public Prosecutor's Office of Goiânia. According to the city hall, the occupation of the City Council is illegal.