Photos and original material in Brazilian:
http://www.viasantos.com/intersindical/
NEGOTIATIONS FAIL. EMPLOYERS QUIT TALKS. EMPLOYERS FOLLOW LABOUR COURT DECISION AND ALSO ABANDON DISCUSSION TO ISOLATE STEVEDORES
The action by Port of Santos Stevedores and Bloc Workers (ship repair and maintenance) continues today, 7 April, in its 12th day. Thirty ships are waiting to moor. A mass meeting last night, 6 April, facing the impasse, decided to relaunch street demonstrations. Declarations of support from around Brazil and internationally have been conveyed to workers in mass meetings.
The national president of the CUT (Central única dos Trabalhadores, the main Brazilian militant union federation) Vicente Pablo Da Silva, came to Santos to show solidarity and deliver four tons of food donated by industrial workers of the São Paulo ABC region. The stevedores had launched a campaign for donations to sustain the movement.
Before the meeting at 15h00 yesterday, 6 April, representatives of the Labour Management Agency (Ogmo) withdrew from talks, in line with the Labour Court ruling of the previous day. The impossibility of continuing negotiations created a new wave of tension that night, but without any fresh clashes between workers and Military Police.
ANOTHER SHIP CAUGHT OPERATING WITH ITS OWN PERSONNEL IN PLACE OF STEVEDORES. NOW IT IS STOPPED.
The “Ise ”, which was operating in the Libra privatized terminal, was interdicted at 13h00 (GMT -3) today, 6 April, by the Ministry of Labour Inspectorate. Three ships are already held up in Santos terminals (another in Libra and a third at the Santos-Brasil terminal - see below) for discharging with their own personnel. Other terminals are being inspected after accusations of this type of irregular operation.
MOVEMENT CONTINUES - The mass meeting on Thursday night, 5 April, enthusiastically endorsed the continuing action in defense of jobs. Solidarity messages arriving from around the world (see Messages of Support) received extensive and emotional applause. Vanderlei José da Silva, President of the Stevedores’ Union, after relating the day’s unfruitful negotiations, asked for a show of hands from those in favour of continuing the action.
The President of the Bloc Workers Union (ship repairs and maintenance) João Saldanha of the Fonseca, considers that “ the workers are starting to break the wall of silence and the public already has a much better understanding of the motive for our struggle”.
Extensive policing continues throughout the city and port area. The stevedores are massing now in Mauá Square, in central Santos by the city hall, waiting for talks. This is where the mass meetings are held.
POLITICAL SUPPORT - In a rare case of unanimity amongst members of the local Legislature, the 21 Santos Councillors, of various parties, suspended the daily session (for the third time), approved a document of support for the workers (see Messages of Support) and scheduled Monday, 9 April as a “Public Session” of Santos City Council, opening the Legislature as a solidarity demonstration. The elected representatives of the 420, 000 inhabitants of Santos had also already demanded that Military Police be withdrawn from the city.
NATIONAL FEDERATION - Abelardo Fernandes, president of the National Federation of Stevedores, is in Santos with the movement and, in an interview today, 6 April, stated that “in this fight in Santos there is much more in play than just the selection of work or even the jobs of stevedores. It is one of the battles in a bigger picture of a project of global domination of the port and maritime industry by a series of interests that unite various governments and well-known companies of the sector”.
11th DAY - After its first ten days the movement of stevedores and Santos dockers now, on 6 April, has the perspective that an agreement is possible. With the rejection by the Public Prosecutor of the Ministry of Labour, mediation was taken over by the State government through its Secretary of Employment and Labour Relations, Walter Barelli, and by the Mayor of Santos Beto Mansur. The Federal Legislature designated the MP’s Arnaldo Madeira (PSDB-SP), Wagner Rossi (PMDB-SP) and Telma de Souza (PT-SP) to observe the negotiations.
Employers, represented by the Labour Management body (Ogmo) and workers, represented by the President of the Stevedores’ Union Vanderlei José Da Silva, and the President of the Bloc Workers’ Union (ship repairs and maintenance), João Saldanha of the Fonseca, have a meeting scheduled for this afternoon. The governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckimin (PSDB), stated that he will be able to mediate a meeting between employers and workers if desired.
TERMINALS STATE THAT THEY WILL OPERATE - The privatized terminals fined on Thursday with operations on two ships suspended due to working without union members, Libra and Santos-Brazil, declared that they will continue to use their own personnel to load and discharge ships. Their spokesmen had told the press that “the interdiction by the Ministry of Labour Work concerned only two ships. Nothing was said about the others”.
PRIVATE TERMINALS SUFFER THE FIRST REVERSE AND ARE FINED BY THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR FOR OPERATING WITHOUT STEVEDORES. ACTION CONTINUES ON THURSDAY, 5 APRIL. COMPANIES QUIT TALKS.
(Jornal O Estado de S. Paulo) - The State of São Paulo regional labour delegate Antônio Funari declared today, 5 April, that the Ministry of Labour interdicted two ships which were operating with irregular labour in the container terminals of Santos Brasil and Libra, in the Port of Santos.
According to him, the two companies were sued and will be allowed to pay fines of R$5,000 per ship. Ministry inspectors carried out spot checks between midnight and 2 a. m. this morning and established that the ships’ cargo was being moved by foreign seafarers, contrary to Brazilian legislation. The Ministry’s initiative was taken in response to accusations by the Stevedores Union, that dock work must only be carried out by port workers.
Bulletin (18h45) - Provoked by the action of stevedores, who had denounced the irregular operations in terminals, the Inspectorate halted this afternoon, 5 April, operations in two ships which were moving cargo without stevedores: “La Paloma ” in Libra Terminal, and the “Alliance Bahia ”, in the Santos-Brasil Container Terminal (Tecon - Santos-Brasil).
Bulletin (19h25) - A meeting of federations and Brazilian national confederations of Stevedores, Portworkers, Bloc Workers, Checkers, Port Security and hauliers, which can call a general strike in Brazilian ports in support of the movement in Santos is scheduled for Saturday, 7 April. Currently the movement has the support of eleven thousand workers linked to the State of São Paulo Port Intersindical (Joint Unions) and of lorry drivers.
