Correios employees rejected the draft collective agreement presented by the company as part of mediation by the TST (Higher Labor Court).
The negotiation now moves to collective bargaining, a legal action that aims to resolve the conflict when the parties involved (employer and employees) cannot reach a consensus on working conditions. This means, in practice, that the TST will define which clauses will be included in the ACT (collective labor agreement).
The president of the TST, Minister Luiz Philippe Vieira de Mello Filho, had already called on the ministers of the SDC (Specialized Section for Collective Conflicts) “to be ready” in the event that an immediate trial was necessary, even during judicial recess. The press release indicates that the analysis of the case can be faster, taking into account the priority given to the subject.
“The Presidency emphasizes that the call to the SDC occurs due to the risk that the strike, even if limited to certain units of the Federation, affects the provision of services at an emblematic moment for the country, such as the end-of-year holidays,” affirms the court.
In a vote last Tuesday (23), the majority of unions rejected the proposal and approved the launch of a national strike. The result was split: 18 unions rejected the proposal (one of them without approving the strike), while 16 others approved it.
“The result formally transfers the negotiation to collective bargaining,” Correios said in a statement to employees. “With this, the company ends the direct negotiation phase, fully respecting the established procedures, and begins to act within the legal framework, with institutional responsibility, to ensure the continuity of the process.”
On Tuesday afternoon, before the meetings, the public company released a video containing a message from Correios’ director of people management, Natália Mota, in which she asks for a “conscious decision” from employees.
“The situation of the company is known and, in this context, a strike entails concrete risks for the operation and the capacity of the company to recover,” he said. The video has already been viewed more than 13,000 times.
According to her, the proposal presented was the best that current reality allows. “It is not the ideal proposal, but it is the result of a real effort to preserve important rights and, at the same time, guarantee the conditions for the company to rebuild,” he said.
The draft employment agreement formulated within the framework of mediation at the TST provides for the end of the period by exception for postmen from August 1, 2026. This clause currently guarantees payment for overtime when they work overtime, but without obligation of compensation in the event of early departure.
In the opinion of the company’s management, this harms productivity, because there is no way to control whether leftover correspondence and undelivered packages are the result of recipients’ absence or insufficient working time.
The proposal made as part of the TST also provides for the end of triple overtime (200% overtime) on Sundays and public holidays. From August 1, 2026, they would receive the amount provided for in the CLT (Consolidation of labor laws), i.e. 100% additional. The “Peru voucher”, an end-of-year bonus worth R$2,500, was also excluded from the proposal, causing discontent among employees.
On the other hand, Correios had to give in on other fronts, such as maintaining the additional 70% on vacations (while the legislation provides for a third).
The proposal also provides for a salary adjustment of 5.13% from April 2026, with retroactive effect to January next year. From August 2026, there would be a further adjustment, equivalent to the inflation accumulated in 12 months to July. The new agreement would be valid for two years, if approved.
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