Superior Labor Court orders an end to postal strike

After 28 days without mail delivery, the Superior Labor Court
(“Tribunal Superior do Trabalho – TST”) has ordered postal workers back
to work today, Thursday, October 13 (the ruling came down on October 11,
and was for workers to return the next day, but as yesterday was a
national holiday the mail will once again begin to move only today).

In the ruling by the section of the court specialized in labor disputes
(“Seção Especializada em Dissídios Coletivos – SDC”), the Post Office
was allowed to dock striking workers for seven days and make them work
weekends to make up for the other 21 days on strike. The postal worker
union can be fined R$50,000 per day if it refuses to obey.

The question as to whether or not the striking workers would be paid
for the days they did not work was one of the flash points in the long
postal strike negotiations. There is a Brazilian tradition of paying
striking workers in the public sector that has been changing slowly.
Radical striking workers are opposed to any change, while the public in
the role of victims of the strikes and government authorities
responsible for a more efficient administration, are more and more in
favor of docking pay.

The TST Chief Justice, João Oreste Dalazen, who wanted to allow all the
days not worked to be docked from the striking workers salaries,
declared: “A negotiated solution was close on a number of occasions but
the striking workers were not sensitive to the situation and there were
people infiltrated in the strike who were interested in radicalizing
positions. This was strike that had unequivocal political
characteristics a number of times.”

As if to emphasize that the strike had lasted too long, the TST ordered
a new labor contract that was the same as one offered at the end of
September during the first round of negotiations: a real increase of
R$80 for all postal workers beginning October 1; and an across-the-board
salary and benefits increase of 6.87%, retroactive to August 1. It is
estimated that the new contract will add around R$850 million to the
Post Office’s annual budget.

The general secretary of the lead postal worker union (“Federação
Nacional dos Trabalhadores de Empresas de Correios, Telégrafos e
Similares – Fentect”),Jose Rivaldo da Silva, lamented that the court
ordered a solution that had been rejected by the unions [no less than 35
unions negotiated for the workers, many of them from different states].
“We expected more,” said a disappointed José Rivaldo da Silva, who
added that the lesson of this strike seemed to be that a negotiated deal
was better than a Labor Court order.

The TST Chief Justice, Delazen, criticized the unions, pointing out
that there was an obvious disconnect between labor leaders and the rank
and file. “This is a conflict that weakens the union movement. This
fragility in the organization of Brazilian labor unions should be
resolved quickly.”

The last strike by postal workers was in 2009 and lasted for 12 days. The biggest postal worker strike was for 32 days in 1994.