Port of Santos workers accept deal to end strike

On the night of the 27th, workers at the Santos Port Authority (SPA), the state-owned company that manages the Port of Santos, ended the strike initiated in the morning of the same day. After demonstrating in front of the Port Authority’s headquarters, they voted in favor of an agreement involving wages and benefits at an assembly in Santos.

The agreement with the state-owned company grants five days off per year and establishes a salary adjustment of 11.73%. In addition, the understanding defined that the additional overtime will remain at 100% until the end of this year and, as of 2023, it will be 75%. The assembly was led by the unions of Workers of the Port Administrations of the State of São Paulo (Sindaport) and the Union of Port Workers of Santos and Region (Sintraport).

SPA employees demanded salary adjustments based on the inflation accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic. Sindaport’s president, Everandy Cirino dos Santos, explained that a meeting with the Port Authority’s board took place in the early afternoon to reach an agreement for the suspension of the strike.

Initially, the category representatives did not accept the conditions presented by the Port Authority due to the suspension of some benefits. However, later, a conciliation hearing was mediated by the Regional Labor Court (TRT-SP), and the agreement became closer. Finally, in the evening, the assembly gave the green light to the proposal.

“We have been negotiating since March, but unfortunately, all the counter-proposals sent by SPA were below the inflation rate and reverted rights conquered years ago,” explains Sintraport vice president Robson Gama.

After 80% of the union members paralyzed their activities, the group secured a win. “SPA presented a less harmful proposal. As a result, we got the full rate and kept 95% of the clauses and the allowance for the strike period,” he celebrates.

Cirino stressed the importance of adhering to the strike. “The SPA wanted to weaken the movement by trying to prevent the strike in the courts, but the Justice emphasized freedom of association.”

The union leader was referring to a ruling by the Labor Court, which required 40% of port guards and 30% of port technicians to keep working during the strike under penalty of a daily fine of R$20,000.

The other side

In a statement made before the strike ended, SPA stated that it supports workers’ constitutional freedom to demonstrate but that it would take all necessary actions “to ensure normalcy in port operations” in Santos.

He emphasized that the compensation proposal given to the unions “includes a full adjustment of 100 percent of the consumer index price for the time, the maximum allowed by law in an election year.”

According to the Port Authority, the strike was limited to SPA management and inspection staff, “affecting part of the state-owned company’s 882 employees, with no relation to the employees of the 55 port terminals, nor with the independent workers.”

Source: A Tribuna

To read the full original article, please go to: https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/empregados-do-porto-de-santos-aprovam-acordo-e-encerram-greve

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