Santos port workers consider strike action as they wait for vaccination

Workers at the Port of Santos are preparing a demonstration on May 6 to show their frustration with the lack of a Covid-19 vaccine.  If an immunization schedule against Covid-19 with dates is not presented by Thursday, port workers are planning a 24-hour strike next week. The action will probably be repeated in other port complexes in the country.

This information is from Bruno José dos Santos, President of SINDESTIVA (Brazilian union of port workers for the Port of Santos and surrounding region). According to him, the protest will take place at 9 am in front of the building where the Santos Port Authority (SPA) is headquartered in Macuco.

Approximately 200 port workers are expected at the demonstration. In addition to the stevedores, other categories of workers will be present, including operators, security guards, and repairmen, in addition to the port’s administrative employees.

On Thursday, workers will stop working between 7, and 9 am. Workers on the roster will return to their posts, and the others will proceed to the protest at the headquarters of the state-owned company that manages the complex.

“We have already had a virtual meeting with Diogo Piloni (the national secretary of ports and water transport). He said he was going to draw up a document and send it to the government. And he did. They said that by the end of May, possibly, they would start the vaccination. Now they are saying it will be September. We will have to get their attention to speed things up”, highlighted the president of SINDESTIVA.

Santos explains that a possible strike will be defined jointly with FNP (the national federation of port workers), FNE (the national federation of dockworkers), and FENCCOVIB (the national federation of port loading and unloading checkers and repairers, security guards, block workers, stowers, and outfitters).

“The demonstration and the strike are being requested by the three federations. We are going to stop all ports in Brazil, ”said the president of SINDESTIVA. “We don’t want to cut in front of anyone in line for the vaccine. We just want to stop the virus because we are exposed to the virus daily at the port. The danger is not only to the worker; he can carry the virus to the nine cities in the region”.

Everandy Cirino dos Santos, President of SINDAPORT (the union of port administration employees), supports the demonstration next Thursday. “Any decision to strike must be made at the port unit meeting. But the category needs a position on vaccination”.

Guards

The first port workers to be vaccinated are the guards who work on the Santos pier. The immunization of the category began Tuesday (May 4). According to Santos City Hall, immunization took place at the headquarters of the Interior Policing Command (CPI-6), which is located at Avenida Coronel Joaquim Montenegro, 282, in Aparecida. The state government made the decision and it was organized by the police.

The Port Guard is part of the Single Public Security System (SUSP) and will therefore have the right to be immunized in the priority group that includes police officers. The corporation is also part of  CESPORTOS (the state commission for public security in ports, terminals, and waterways). This category also required mobilization to be included in the National Immunization Plan. Earlier this month, port guards held a protest in front of the Port Authority headquarters building demanding vaccination against Covid-19 for their category. After the demonstration, the category also filed a lawsuit, which was never tried.

Source: A Tribuna

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