After 20 days, Oil tankers Suspend Strike at Petrobras

In assemblies held on Thursday, the striking oil tankers confirmed the suspension of the strike.

The demonstration started on Tuesday in downtown Rio de Janeiro, against the privatization of Petrobras.

It completed 20 days this Thursday and became the most significant stoppage in the category since the 32-day strike in 1995.

The protest started in front of the Petrobras headquarters building. Teachers, students, health professionals, and state employees attended the event.

From there, with the support of social movements, protesters marched to the central part of the city. On the way, they shouted slogans against President Jair Bolsonaro and complained about the fuel price policy.

The announcement of layoffs at a fertilizer factory in Parana motivated the strike. With this, the tankers accuse Petrobras of not complying with a collective bargaining agreement by announcing the dismissals without prior negotiation.

Guilherme Boulos, the coordinator of the MTST (Movement of Homeless Workers), explained tankers are setting an example. He mentioned the strike was not only due to the layoffs in Parana. It was also not only to guarantee the employment of oil tankers.

It is also about having a more significant impact as a strike against the privatization of the largest public company in Brazil.

Petrobras is Closing the Factory

FUP (Federacion Unica dos Petroleiros) proposed the interruption of the strike.During this, it happened after the TRT (Regional Labor Court) of Parana suspended layoffs at the Araucaria Nitrogenados fertilizer plant.

Petrobras decided to close the plant, alleging accumulated losses of more than $2 billion. In addition, the company says they will not reverse the layoffs, and the factory will even be closed.

Negotiations with unions in court will be restricted to the benefit deals offered to the workers. During the shutdown, the company used contingency teams and hired temporary staff to maintain operations.

Also, the executive said they are ready to face a lengthy strike.

The oil tankers criticized the company’s balance sheet, saying it came from the sale of “strategic subsidiaries.” EUP said the result of this dismantling is the increase in unemployment.

The oil tankers’ campaign against privatization has received support from opposition parties and other categories of public servants. On the flip side, the president of Petrobras defended that, by focusing on more profitable operations, Petrobras will have more money to invest and generate jobs.

In its balance sheet, Petrobras says it collected $ 246 billion in taxes in 2019.