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Strike at Petrobras Was Declared at 0h on December 15, 2025, After Three Months of Frustrated Negotiations, with 14 Unions of the FUP Rejecting an 5.66% Increase, Demanding 9.8%, and Promising to Paralyze Platforms, Refineries, and Offices Across the Country for an Indefinite Period Until the Government and State Company Yield.
The strike at Petrobras began at 0h on December 15, 2025, after a decision made on Friday, the 12th, when 14 unions linked to the Unique Federation of Oil Workers rejected the company’s counterproposal for the Collective Labor Agreement, presented after more than three months of negotiations without an agreement.
The stoppage, for an indefinite period, affects the entire country, reaching production platforms, refineries, and administrative units and was announced by the general coordinator of Sindipetro-NF, Sérgio Borges, who claims that the 14 unions of the FUP, representing more than 50,000 workers, are mobilized in defense of the agenda approved by the category.
How the Strike at Petrobras Was Approved
The declaration of the strike at Petrobras was approved in assemblies held until Friday, December 12, 2025, when the category decided to reject the counterproposal presented by the state company for the Collective Labor Agreement.
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According to reports from union leaders, negotiations had dragged on for more than three months without a minimum consensus on points deemed central by the workers.
The FUP, which brings together 14 unions and concentrates a large part of the country’s oil production, assessed that the proposal did not meet the main demands:
restoration of rights taken away in previous administrations, a more equitable distribution of the company’s results, and changes in the way deficits are charged by Petros, the employees’ pension fund.
Given the perception of a deadlock, the indication to cross arms for an indefinite period prevailed.
5.66% Increase, Demanding 9.8% Increase
In the salary field, the most visible point of the conflict is the increase offered by Petrobras.
The company’s proposal provides for the inflation of the period plus a real gain of 0.5 percentage points, resulting in a total increase of 5.66%.
The unions consider the index insufficient given the accumulated losses over years of absence of real increases.
The agenda approved by the category demands a 9.8% increase, presented as necessary to restore the eroded purchasing power and recover part of what was lost in previous rounds of negotiation.
According to the workers’ representatives, accepting 5.66% would mean consolidating a trajectory of austerity, while the higher percentage would be a step toward rebalancing the relationship between the profits of the state company and the remuneration of those who operate daily.
Petros, Retirees, and Pensioners at the Center of Dissatisfaction
Besides the salary index, the situation of Petros is treated by union leaders as one of the main engines of the strike at Petrobras.
The category criticizes the plans to equate the fund’s deficit, which result in significant deductions on benefits for retirees and pensioners.
The dissatisfaction has led groups of retirees and pensioners to organize vigils in front of Petrobras’ headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, in protest against these deductions linked to the fund’s equating.
For the FUP, maintaining the current collections rules disproportionately shifts the cost of accumulated imbalances to participants, which reinforces the pressure for any agreement to include concrete changes on this point.
Reach of the Stoppage in Platforms, Refineries, and Offices
Since 0h on December 15, 2025, the strike at Petrobras has affected administrative units, exploration and production platforms, and refineries in different regions of the country.
The movement involves both offshore workers and employees in support and management areas, which increases the potential impact on the day-to-day operations of the state company.
The category itself evaluates that the duration of the stoppage will be decisive for the level of effects on the production and refining chain.
The longer the deadlock lasts, the greater the need for reorganization of shifts, scales, and internal processes, including in areas that, at first, may operate with minimal contingents or contingency plans.
Absence of Response from Petrobras and Expectation of Negotiation
Until the publication of this report, Petrobras had not officially expressed itself regarding the declaration of the strike, the possibility of reviewing the 5.66% increase index, or any adjustments in the model for equating Petros.
The absence of public positioning from the company contributes to the perception of a deadlock among workers.
From the union side, the message is that the strike at Petrobras will continue indefinitely until the state company and the government present a proposal considered minimally acceptable regarding salaries, rights, and pension funds.
The bet of the FUP and the 14 unions is that the combined pressure of national stoppage and mobilization of retirees will lead to the opening of a new round of dialogue.
In the meantime, the full normalization of activities at platforms, refineries, and offices remains conditioned to the effective progress of negotiations.
The developments in the coming days will indicate whether the movement will intensify or whether there will be room for an agreement capable of ending the stoppage.
In your opinion, is the strike at Petrobras the appropriate measure in light of the proposals presented by the company and the scenario of accumulated losses claimed by the workers?
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Uma pessoa reagiu a isso.