In addition to labor, the TST also prohibited unions from preventing free access to equipment, under penalty of a fine of R$200,000/day; Single Federation of Oil Workers Talks Analyzing Next ‘Legal Steps’
THE Superior Labor Court (TST) determined this Saturday 27, the maintenance of 80% of workers in the Petrobras active in each of the company’s units. The decision follows an urgent protection request filed by Petrobras due to a strike national campaign of indefinite duration which began on the 15th.
In addition to the minimum percentage, it has also been defined that union entities will not be able to prevent free access to equipment or production flow. The fine, in case of non-compliance, was set at R$200,000 per day.
“Such a measure finds support, above all in the fact that the collective bargaining process is still ongoing, as well as in the fact that thirteen union entities have approved the proposal presented, with a large majority in their assemblies, the wall movement remaining limited to certain segments,” declared in the decision of Minister Vieira de Mello Filho, president of the TST.
He also scheduled a conciliation hearing between Petrobras and worker representative entities at TST headquarters on January 2 at 2 p.m. If there is still no agreement, an extraordinary session will be held at the Specialized Collective Conflict Section (SDC) of the TST on January 6, at 1:30 p.m.
After the decision, the Single Federation of Oil Workers (FUP) declared that it was “analyzing, together with Sindipetro-NF, the legal measures that will be taken to protect the workers’ right to strike and guarantee the realization of the collective labor agreement.” THE Stadium sought to contact the National Oil Workers Front (NPF) and Petrobras for their position on the issue, but received no response until the publication of this report.
Strike at Petrobras
Petrobras employees went on strike at midnight on December 15, a Monday, after the rejection of three collective labor agreement (CLA) proposals presented by the company. Last Sunday 21, the FUP estimated that there was “significant progress” in the negotiations, but the strike continued.
The strike brings together 14 unions affiliated with the FUP, which has 32,000 members and 101,000 workers, and four unions affiliated with the FNP, which represents around 26,000 workers in the Petrobras system, which involves states like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Amazonas and Paraná.
The entities did not approve the real increase proposed by the company, of 0.5%, the same year in which Petrobras paid 37.3 billion reais in dividends (figures between January and September). “This offer is disrespectful of the company’s record profits,” said the FNP, which deemed these proposals “unworthy” in a press release.
The unions are also demanding a solution to the Deficit Compensation Plans (PED) of the Petrobras Social Security Foundation (Petros), a pension fund that manages supplementary pension plans for employees. PEDs seek to balance a pension plan that records an actuarial deficit (when future payment commitments exceed available resources), resulting in the imposition of extraordinary contributions on its participants to cover the amount of the deficit.
Petrobras then declared, in a note sent to Stadiumwhich adopted emergency measures to ensure the continuity of operations, that market supply would be guaranteed and that there would be no impact on the production of oil and derivatives.
“The company respects the right of its employees to demonstrate and maintains a permanent channel of dialogue with union entities, regardless of external agendas or public demonstrations,” the note indicates.
About The Author
