Brazil Workers To Strike Soon

Oil workers all over Brazil are going to strike on October 19 if the national oil company Petrobras does not increase salaries.
The strike would surely affect production, unlike the 24-hour protest strikes that workers have been holding in the past week while negotiations with Petrobras management have been ongoing.

October 8, Petrobras management offered a 12.1% salary increase for active workers, a 17% increase in luncheon vouchers and an increase of benefits to workers' families. It also said it would conclude a career structure proposal in 18 days.

However, the oil workers' union FUP recommended that unions reject the proposal, claiming that the offer is below their salary-hike pledge. Workers want a 13.2% increase extendable to some 60,000 retired workers, as well as career plans and an upheaval of current retirement programs.

Petrobras said that it would announce a new retirement plan for its workers by October 29 after studying "sustainable changes" with Petrobras' oil workers pension fund Petros.

Petrobras and its units BR Distribuidora, Transpetro, and refinery Refap employ 54,880 people in Brazil and abroad, and 17,081 of them work in exploration and production, Petrobras said on its webpage.