Dockers in the Port of Santos decided at a mass meeting on Sunday to continue the strike which began last Tuesday. The atmosphere remained tense. Around 200 dockers assembled at the terminal and lit a fire, burning tyres and wood. Military Police surrounded the demonstration.
The dockers are protesting a Court decision to grant OGMO (Órgão Gestor de Mão-de-Obra) the function of selecting stevedores, which their union has carried out for 70 years. In many Brazilian ports Ogmo already plays this role in compliance with Federal law.
On Thursday, the president of the São Paulo Regional Labour Tribunal (TRT) Francisco Antonia de Oliveira, ruled that the dockers must go back to work, or the union be fined R$50,000 per day.
