Brazil : foodworkers refuse to pay the costs of crisis

The Food Industry Workers’ National Confederation of Brazil (CNTA Afins) has launched a national mobilization in preparation for 2016 negotiations in the food industry to defend against efforts by employers and politicians to force workers to pay the costs of the country’s deepening economic crisis.  CNTA President Artur Bueno de Camargo has called for a permanent campaign to protect employment and defend against inflation.

In the 2016 negotiations, the union is calling for the harmonization of bargaining agreement expiration dates on a state-wide basis, opposition to layoffs, the replacement of permanent with precarious jobs and the weakening of safety standards, effective automatic mechanisms for regularly adjusting wages to inflation and government action to reduce interest rates to stimulate investment, among other measures.