---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Orsan Senalp <[email protected]> Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 3:24 PM Subject: [Networkedlabour] Fwd: Solidarity call from Brazilian workers; Brazil Is Facing an Unprecedented Labor Crisis With the World Cup Just Days Away To: [email protected] Begin forwarded message: *From:* Jai Sen <[email protected]> *Date:* 9 Jun 2014 21:36:17 GMT+2 *To:* Post WSFDiscuss <[email protected]>, Post Social Movements Riseup <[email protected]> *Cc:* Jai Sen <[email protected]> *Subject:* *[WSF-Discuss] Fwd: Solidarity call from Brazilian workers; Brazil Is Facing an Unprecedented Labor Crisis With the World Cup Just Days Away* *Reply-To:* Discussion list about the WSF < [email protected]> Monday, 9 June 2014 *Worlds in movement, worlds of movement…* *Urgent Call From Brazil : We Need Your Solidarity* *Brazil Is Facing an Unprecedented Labor Crisis With the World Cup Just Days Away* Thanks, Patrick. JS fwd Begin forwarded message: *From: *Patrick Bond <[email protected]> *Subject: **[Debate-List] (Fwd) Solidarity call from Brazilian workers* *Date: *June 9, 2014 2:27:33 PM EDT *To: *DEBATE <[email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected], "[email protected]" < [email protected]>, [email protected] http://protesti.tumblr.com/ <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fprotesti.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F87848571369%2Fsao-paulo-subway-workers-to-strike&h=TAQGi_NPy&enc=AZMQIgHGmF4JWyzqSpZkPNNgMR73Aa5wph0Kh4ZhKpq2PxTKTKiQJLYmVp3c0QbKwCudN1SsjAc6D5Bp21i9bEp7w5OaSETp2kfdjr1ojCgrf3vaV5DXLkTvHIU69f-E08nqSKMX9UGqcRY4H-lZin8K&s=1> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fprotesti.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F87848571369%2Fsao-paulo-subway-workers-to-strike&h=TAQGi_NPy&enc=AZMQIgHGmF4JWyzqSpZkPNNgMR73Aa5wph0Kh4ZhKpq2PxTKTKiQJLYmVp3c0QbKwCudN1SsjAc6D5Bp21i9bEp7w5OaSETp2kfdjr1ojCgrf3vaV5DXLkTvHIU69f-E08nqSKMX9UGqcRY4H-lZin8K&s=1> *URGENT CALL FROM BRAZIL: WE NEED YOUR SOLIDARITY* Altino Prazeres, president, Metro Workers Union São Paulo Brazil Sao Paulo Transit Workers: Intensify the struggle, defend the right to strike, prevent any punishment, we want to negotiate now. Everyone has been following the mobilizations going on in Brazil with strikes and demonstration by workers and popular organizations expressing their indignation about the World Cup with its astronomic costs and corruption, all in function of the interests of the multinational companies and FIFA. But at the same time people have been .putting forward their concrete struggles making demands for salaries, rights, housing, better public services. They have denounced repression and criminalization of dissent, etc. At this moment, the transit workers in Sao Paulo are in the fifth day of a strike which began last Thursday. The transport workers carry 4,000,000 passengers every day in the city where, next Thursday, June 12, the opening of the World Cup will take place. Because this strike is so important, the government has decided that it has to be defeated come what may. It is seeking to impose an end to the strike and also prevent the mobilizations from escalating in the coming days. Brazilian Justice, working hand in hand with the interests of the government, big business and FIFA declared the strike illegal today and demanded that the transit workers return to work immediately. It has established a daily fine of US$ 250,000 on their union for non-compliance. This decision by the Justice Ministry allows the government to dismiss the strikers, contravening all their legal and economic rights. We are counting on the support and solidarity of all the Brazilian union centrals that are organization initiatives in support of the strike (see note below) The Union and the workers have decided to continue the strike, despite the government’s orders, in order to defend their demands and also to defend their right to strike. We need your support and solidarity. Send messages to the e-mails below, post photos on social networks, broadcast this call on your lists and web sites Full support for the Sao Paulo Transit Workers Response to the demands of the transit sector In defence of the right to strike! No to repression, no punishment! Alckman negotiate! Altino Prazeres, President, Sao Paulo Transit Workers Union International Network of Solidarity and Struggle CSP Conlutas - Brasil Contact info and where to send support messages: Altino Prazeres Président du Syndicat des Travailleurs du Métro de São Paulo http://www.metroviarios.org.br/site/ - https://www.facebook.com/sindicatodosmetroviariosdesaopaulo Réseau Syndical International de Solidarité et de Lutte CSP-Conlutas — Brésil http://cspconlutas.org.br/ <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcspconlutas.org.br%2F&h=rAQEdrRvf&enc=AZNlJeJmogAydM-oCdzRguUeudospjX5cNqpUX0SzPcvSyVPMeJBPOum_cug9JkXl_HAo94LrEHJ7jfjsIZFPliz4O3sfmUhAWdBLDlsP0-Tf5vKilw8_kenU57ejlaW9v5QHIyWjcsdaJhhunQr5tcB&s=1> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcspconlutas.org.br%2F&h=rAQEdrRvf&enc=AZNlJeJmogAydM-oCdzRguUeudospjX5cNqpUX0SzPcvSyVPMeJBPOum_cug9JkXl_HAo94LrEHJ7jfjsIZFPliz4O3sfmUhAWdBLDlsP0-Tf5vKilw8_kenU57ejlaW9v5QHIyWjcsdaJhhunQr5tcB&s=1> - https://www.facebook.com/CSPConlutas [email protected] [email protected] cc: [email protected] <http://webmailbb.juno.com/webmail/new/5?userinfo=b83fbf69bd2e8ff6d51a00c3503bc1b7&count=1402317721&randid=1827375203#> <http://webmailbb.juno.com/webmail/new/5?userinfo=b83fbf69bd2e8ff6d51a00c3503bc1b7&count=1402317721&randid=1827375203#> *** Brazil Is Facing an Unprecedented Labor Crisis With the World Cup Just Days Away 57 <http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?s=100&p[title]=Brazil+Is+Facing+an+Unprecedented+Labor+Crisis+With+the+World+Cup+Just+Days+Away&p[summary]=With+the+World+Cup+set+to+start+in+S%C3%A3o+Paulo+on+Thursday,+Brazil%E2%80%99s+largest+city+has+been+racked+by+work+stoppages+that+have+created+an+unprecedented+crisis+for+the+country%E2%80%99s+already+fragile+labor+system.+After+a+Friday+in+which+striking+mass+transit+workers+brought+the+city+to+a%C2%A0grinding+halt,+S%C3%A3o...&p[ref]=sl_live&p[images][0]=http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/08/s_o_paulo_strikes_brazil_faces_an_unprecedented_labor_crisis_with_the_world/450104952-public-transportation-users-invade-subway-tracks-in-the.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1280.1280.jpeg&p[url]=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/08/s_o_paulo_strikes_brazil_faces_an_unprecedented_labor_crisis_with_the_world.html> <http://twitter.com/share?text=Brazil+Is+Facing+an+Unprecedented+Labor+Crisis+With+the+World+Cup+Just+Days+Away&count=none&via=slate&url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/08/s_o_paulo_strikes_brazil_faces_an_unprecedented_labor_crisis_with_the_world.html> 61 <http://twitter.com/search?q=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/08/s_o_paulo_strikes_brazil_faces_an_unprecedented_labor_crisis_with_the_world.html> 19 <http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/08/s_o_paulo_strikes_brazil_faces_an_unprecedented_labor_crisis_with_the_world.html#comments> By Jeremy Stahl <http://www.slate.com/authors.jeremy_stahl.html> <450104952-public-transportation-users-invade-subway-tracks-in-the.jpg.CROP.promo-mediumlarge.jpg>Public transportation users invade subway tracks in the Corinthians Itaquera station. Photo by Victor Moriyama/Getty Images With the World Cup set to start in São Paulo on Thursday, Brazil’s largest city has been racked by work stoppages that have created an unprecedented crisis for the country’s already fragile labor system. After a Friday in which striking mass transit workers brought the city to a grinding halt <http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/06/06/transit_strike_brazil_sao_paulo_workers_want_bigger_raise.html>, São Paulo’s labor court ruled on Sunday that the strikes were not legal, reports the AFP <https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/24191404/court-rules-sao-paulo-subway-strike-illegal/>. This was the first time in the history of the court that it had been opened on a Sunday to issue such a ruling, says labor judge Homero Batista Mateus da Silva. Homero works on São Paulo’s labor court, but in a different division than the one that decided the fate of the striking workers. “Everybody is afraid of waiting for Monday or Tuesday,” Homero, who is also a professor of labor law at the University of São Paulo, told me over email. “This is amazing and for us is a brand-new world.” "The court ruled the strike was abusive. We are going to have an assembly [this afternoon] and vote whether to continue the strike or not," said union spokesman Thiago Marcelino Pereira after the ruling was announced. Even though the court ruled against the strikers, enforcing the ruling may be a challenge. The subway union has already scoffed at $44,000 fines <http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2014/06/05/brazil-metro-trains-on-strike-1-week-before-cup/10003013/> levied by another judge for each day of full strikes. *(Update, June 9, 2014, 8:30 a.m. EST: On Sunday, the labor court increased the fine to $220,000 per day going forward. The subway workers voted to continue striking indefinitely <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27757619> despite the ruling.)* “The fines are not sufficient, nor respected,” said Homero. “They pay it five, 10 years after, so it is not effective.” A major problem is that the Brazilian legal system had not been set up to resolve public-sector labor disputes until last year when the Supreme Court ruled that a 1989 national labor law that had been restricted to private-sector employees was now applicable to public-sector ones. “This decision came as a huge surprise, since the Supreme Court has avoided it for a long time, but the huge silence from Congress for the past decades has forced the U-turn,” said Homero. Still, because the 1989 law was written with the private sector in mind, it is a poor mechanism for authorities to negotiate with public employees. Homero said that because public-sector employees have largely been unable to access the labor courts to resolve disputes via arbitration, “their strikes are much more violent, widespread and long” than in the private sector. Police unions have said that they may ignore a Supreme Court injunction <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/07/subway-workers-strike-in-brazilian-word-cup-host-city-enters-3ed-day/> not to strike during the World Cup. The government of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, who is facing re-election in October, has said it would call on the military to prevent protests from disrupting World Cup matches <http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/22/us-brazil-worldcup-protests-idUSBREA4L1AA20140522> if it came to that. Brazilian police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades <http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/brazil-strikes-threat-smooth-world-cup-24020585> against subway workers during Friday’s strikes. “The absence of [strong public labor] laws is responsible for many problems,” Homero said. “As far as I know, some unions are not intimidated [by threats of military force]!” The subway workers were asking for a pay hike of 12.2 percent <http://online.wsj.com/articles/sao-paulo-subway-operator-says-all-lines-running-partially-or-normally-1402172649>, having rejected an offer from the state government company that runs the subway system for an 8.7 percent raise. The past two months have seen strikes from teachers unions, police unions, and bus unions. Federal police who had threatened to go on strike received a 16 percent raise <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27678013>, while striking bus drivers received a 10 percent pay increase <http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/06/319491937/striking-train-workers-adds-to-brazils-world-cup-woes> . Striking workers cite salaries that have suffered under inflation as a main cause for the stoppages, with government statistics released on Friday showing that the country’s consumer price index rose 6.37 percent in the last year. They also note the enormous bill—more than $11 billion <http://online.wsj.com/articles/labor-strikes-roil-brazil-ahead-of-world-cup-1401398941>—the country has footed to pay for the World Cup and wonder why more of that money hasn’t been spent on public employees. “[The] World Cup has turned out to be a tremendous opportunity for wages and better conditions efforts,” said Homero. “Even those who have been quiet for some years, as the buses and trains drivers, have awakened.” The subway system is supposed to be the main mode of transportation for fans planning to attend Thursday’s World Cup opener between Brazil and Croatia. The country’s labor minister, Manoel Dias, has described recent work stoppages as crass opportunism <http://online.wsj.com/articles/labor-strikes-roil-brazil-ahead-of-world-cup-1401398941>. "Many strikes are inexplicable," Dias said after a series of strikes two weeks ago. "Workers have had higher-than-inflation salary increases." Public-sector strikes in Brazil are not uncommon, and are beginning to frustrate citizens. “Ordinary Brazilian people are so tired and so disgusted that they do not count any more that the essential public services will be available the whole year,” says Homero. “Public teachers' strikes are on an annual basis, evolving from 30 to 90 days. Parents are used to seeing their children at home many working days a year.” The lack of ability by the political system to negotiate effectively with public-sector employees has partially to do with Brazil’s shoddy historical treatment of labor. Prior to the 1988 Constitution and the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship, strikes were treated as a “crime and then as an un-Brazilian activity,” according to Homero. “I have a feeling that the way Brazil has treated strikes during [its military dictatorship] has proved to be wrong and has backfired,” Homero said. “Any president or politician that dares to make a speech about the need of some rules are immediately considered right-wing or [an] enemy of the workers. That’s why civil servants (and the military included) have absolutely no rule concerning strikes. No rule at all. They can do whatever they want, whenever they want.” Homero said he empathizes with workers seeking better conditions, and that’s why he wishes that a better arbitration system were in place to resolve such disputes. Concerns about this World Cup had centered mainly on fears of a repeat of last year’s mass demonstrations, when millions of Brazilians took to the streets to protest the billions that were being spent to host the tournament instead of being spent on infrastructure needs <http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/05/20/paulo_ito_world_cup_a_brazilian_street_artist_has_created_the_world_cup.html> for the creaky education and health systems. The work stoppages that have taken place have involved many fewer participants, relatively speaking, but have still proved to be disruptive. A recent poll showed that a majority of Brazilians now view the nation’s decision to host the World Cup <http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/06/03/majority_of_brazilians_say_hosting_the_world_cup_is_a_bad_thing_why_is_the.html> as a bad one. The tournament kicks off this Thursday at São Paulo’s Arena Corinthians, which was still incomplete <http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/06/05/318925781/as-brazil-barrels-toward-world-cup-brazilians-arent-feeling-it> as of last week. Jeremy Stahl is a *Slate *senior editor. You can follow him on Twitter <https://twitter.com/jeremystahl>. ______________________________ Jai Sen [email protected] www.cacim.net / http://www.openword.in Now based in Ottawa, Canada (+1-613-282 2900), and New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) *RECENT PUBLICATIONS :* Jai Sen and Peter Waterman, eds, 2012 – *World Social Forum : Critical Explorations**.* Volume 3 in the *Challenging Empires* series. New Delhi : OpenWord. *Available now as an ebook* - *internationally at* http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/ *and in India at * http://pothi.com/pothi/book/ebook-jai-sen-world-social-forum-critical-explor... Jai Sen, ed, 2012 - *Imagining Alternatives*, Book 3 in the *Are Other Worlds Possible ?* series. New Delhi : OpenWord and Daanish Books *FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS :* Jai Sen, ed, forthcoming (2013) – *The Movements of Movements : Struggles for Other Worlds**.* Volume 4 in the *Challenging Empires* series. New Delhi : OpenWord *CHECK OUT* *CACIM* @ www.cacim.net, *OpenWord* @ http://www.openword.in, and *OpenSpaceForum* @ www.openspaceforum.net *AND SUBSCRIBE TO* *WSFDiscuss*, an open and unmoderated forum for the exchange of information and views on the experience, practice, and theory of social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global), including the World Social Forum. *To subscribe, simply send an empty email to [email protected] <[email protected]>* _______________________________________________ ** WSFDiscuss is an open and unmoderated forum for the exchange of information and views on the experience, practise, and theory of the World Social Forum at any level (local, national, regional, and global) and on related social and political movements and issues. 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