Arrested firemen in Rio will be confined to barracks

On Friday, June 3, a demonstration by striking firemen in Rio de Janeiro for better salaries and a career plan, ended when the strikers invaded fire department headquarters. The governor, citing a breach of military discipline, ordered the arrest of 439 of them. The Special Operations Battalion of the Military Police (“Bope”) went into action and removed the firemen, taking them into custody.

On Saturday, June 4, governor Sérgio Cabral spoke at a press conference and declared that a salary recuperation plan (“plano de recuperação salarial”) is in effect. He explained that the average salary in Rio for firemen is R$1,500 per month, which should rise to R$2,000 at the end of the year as part of the plan. An angry governor added that the arrested firemen will face administrative and criminal charges.

On Sunday, June 5, most of the arrested firemen were being transferred to holding cells in city fire department barracks (“unidades do Corpo de Bombeiros”). It is reported that the leaders of the strike movement were being kept separately (“Corregedoria da Polícia Militar em São Gonçalo”).

There are conflicting reports about the behavior of firemen who were not arrested. Spokespersons for the firemen say they will stand down and remain in their fire stations, only going out in cases of emergency. However, at fire department headquarters, officers say that all services have been normalized.

The fact is that some firemen have posted themselves on the stairs of the Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Assembly (“Alerj”) where they are trying to drum up public support for their grievances – the salary increase and the career plan, plus a new grievance: the immediate release of their colleagues.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission at the Rio branch of the Bar Association (“Comissão de Direitos Humanos da Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil seção Rio de Janeiro (OAB-RJ”) says it will monitor the situation of the 439 arrested firemen. The president of the OAB-RJ, Wadih Damous, told Agência Brasil that the salary grievances of the firemen were fair and legitimate. “Their salaries are absolutely debased. They provide the city with good services and are well-liked by the population,” Damous said. He added that the OAB-RJ would be closely watching the situation as there were reports that lawyers were having difficulties talking to arrested firemen. “We want to see the rules of democracy and the constitution being respected by all. We need the parties to sit down and negotiate. We want to avoid abuses on both sides,” he concluded.