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Strike at the Post Office! Postmen, drivers and attendants announce a total stoppage of their activities

Written by Ruth Rodrigues
Published 12/08/2024 às 17:40
Postal workers go on indefinite strike in nine states, demanding salary adjustments and better working conditions.
Photo: Canva

Postal workers go on indefinite strike in nine states, demanding salary adjustments and better working conditions.

The workers of post offices of nine Brazilian states decided to “cross their arms” last Thursday, August 8, triggering an indefinite strike. The decision to stop activities was approved in assemblies held in different states, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná. Negotiations between the category and the company have so far not produced an agreement, and the strike promises to be one of the biggest recent challenges faced by Correios, which was already coming from a period of financial difficulties and internal restructuring. The strike reflects the general discontent of the category, which demands salary improvements, better working conditions and changes to the health plan offered by the company.

Motivations for the postal strike

Workers' main demands involve issues salary, working conditions and expansion of the workforce.

The strikers demand a salary adjustment that they consider fair and valid for 2024.

They also call for new public competitions to increase the number of employees at Correios, a measure they consider essential to improve the efficiency of the services provided.

Another point of disagreement between employees and the Brazilian Post and Telegraph Company (ECT) concerns the health plan offered by the company.

Workers criticize the high cost of the plan, which includes co-participation, and demand a 15% reduction in the costs of procedures such as consultations and exams.

In an open letter, Findect outlined its demands and explained the current conditions faced by Correios employees, calling on more workers to join the strike.

The union also criticized ECT's “intransigent stance” in negotiations, claiming that the company has not demonstrated a willingness to meet workers' demands.

Adherence to the strike and the affected states

The strike was joined by unions in nine states: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Ceará, Alagoas, Maranhão, Piauí and Tocantins.

In these states, postal services were impacted in varying ways, with some locations experiencing delays and interruptions in the delivery of correspondence and packages.

In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which concentrate large volumes of correspondence and parcels, participation in the strike was particularly significant, according to the union.

In other states, such as Alagoas and Tocantins, the strike also raised concerns about the continuity of services, especially in more remote areas.

Post Office response

Correios, in turn, states that, despite the strike, services are “operating normally throughout the country”.

In an official statement released on Thursday (8), the company reported that it had taken measures to minimize the impacts of the strike, such as relocating professionals and working overtime to cover the absences of striking employees.

The president of Correios, Fabiano Silva dos Santos, declared in a statement that the company believes in dialogue and transparency as essential tools to build a stronger and more responsible company.

He highlighted that the institution maintains its willingness to negotiate, but that it has faced difficulties in recent years due to the near-privatization process and the extinction of workers' historic rights, measures implemented by the previous government.

The Brazilian Post and Telegraph Company argues that it has sought dialogue with the unions and has presented proposals to meet some of the workers' demands.

Among the proposals, the company offered an increase wage of 6,05%, to be applied from January 2025, and an increase in benefits for employees as early as August 2024.

In addition, Correios committed to opening a public competition for some vacancies, with the aim of strengthening the staff and improving the provision of services.

Despite these proposals, unions consider that the company's offers are insufficient to meet workers' needs.

Findect criticizes the proposed salary adjustment percentage, claiming that it does not correspond to the increase in the cost of living and the salary losses accumulated in recent years.

Furthermore, the union insists that expanding the number of employees is essential to guarantee better working conditions and so that the company can fulfill its obligations to the population.

Impacts of the strike on the population

The postal strike raises concerns for the population, especially for those who depend on postal services to deliver correspondence and packages.

In regions where participation in the strike was high, users may face significant delays in the delivery of letters, important documents and products purchased online.

The shutdown could also affect companies that depend on the Post Office for the logistics of their businesses, such as e-commerces and service providers that use the postal network to distribute their products.

With the strike lasting indefinitely, the expectation is that the impact on economy and in the daily lives of Brazilians will increase if there is no agreement between the strikers and the company.

So far, there is no expected end date for the strike. Findect stands firm in its demands and insists that workers will not return to work until their demands are met.

Correios, in turn, continues to state that it is willing to negotiate, but that it also has the responsibility to maintain the continuity of services provided to the population.

With negotiations at an impasse and the strike ongoing, the scenario is one of uncertainty for both postal workers and the population that depends on postal services.

It remains to be seen whether the parties will be able to reach an agreement that meets the needs of workers and at the same time guarantees the continuity of services to the Brazilian population.

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Ruth Rodrigues

Graduated in Biological Sciences from the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), she works as a writer and scientific disseminator.

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