Port of Vila do Conde dockworkers go on strike demanding working conditions

Dockworkers at the Port of Vila do Conde, located in Barcarena, in the Belém metropolitan region, have gone on strike on Thursday, March 14, at 5:00 am. They demand several improvements in their work conditions, including a steady potable water supply.

The longshoremen strike in Pará coincides with Operation Safe Haven, a labor audit operation currently investigating alleged labor infractions across Brazil.  Some of those possible infractions, especially those related to laborers’ safety and health, under investigation in Vila do Conde are:

• Lack of bathrooms for workers inside the cargo loading and unloading area.
• Absence of shelter against inclement weather during cargo handling operations within the port.
• Poor physical structure at the port facility, with noticeable giant cracks and holes in its floor.
• Absence of lifebuoys along the pier.

“We are conducting an investigation to verify whether the reported issues are factual. Alongside the audit, the workers are on strike and have closed the port for the same reasons, among others. We only entered the port due to the investigation, but they are blocking access,” said labor auditor Raimundo Barbosa.

The auditors met with port administration from the Port Authority of Pará (CDP), managers, and port operators. “Since we are still in the process of investigating, we do not have conclusive findings yet,” Barbosa emphasized.

The Vila do Conde Port in Barcarena, a port terminal that has been gaining growing importance in Brazil’s Northern Arc, is known for handling a wide range of cargo, mostly grains and containers. The chart below uses DataLiner data to display this port’s monthly exports and imports of containers from January 2022 and January 2024.

Vila do Conde Container Movement | Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The president of the Dockworkers Union of Pará spoke about the strike at the Port of Vila do Conde. According to him, the longshoremen organization is also opposed to the proposed changes in the Ports Law (12.815/2013), which, according to the spokesperson, aims to make port companies not the sole bearers of the right to hire independent workers.

According to the Ports Law, workers with indefinite employment contracts must be exclusively hired from a pool of independent port workers registered at the Labor Management Agency (Ogmo).

Employer associations want the “exclusivity” to be interpreted as a “priority,” opening the possibility of hiring professionals not registered at Ogmo. They have even filed an unconstitutionality lawsuit against the Union.

“If this happens, we will be out of jobs because anyone will be able to work as a dockworker, and it will undermine both the category and wages,” says Moisés Sousa, president of the Dockworkers Union of the State of Pará (Setemep).

The port legislation is under review by a committee in Congress.

Source: G1

Click here to read the original text: https://g1.globo.com/pa/para/noticia/2024/03/14/para-trabalhadores-do-porto-de-vila-do-conde-paralisam-atividades-por-melhorias-de-trabalho-e-protestam-contra-mudanca-na-lei-dos-portos.ghtml

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