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Court backs Brazilian port workers
15 May 2008
A Brazilian court has called on employers to enter into talks with dockers to resolve a dispute over management attempts to hire private port workers without prior consultation.
Port workers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, refused to unload cargo last month after the container terminal operator Libra Terminals took the decision to take on some 30 private, though unionised, workers. The employer failed to consult the union in the port before hiring the workers. Three workers were arrested during the stoppage. Dockers’ unions in the port took the matter to court, where it was recommended that the employer negotiate with the unions to resolve the dispute; a final judgement is yet to be made.
As a result of the privatisation of many Brazilian terminals, outsourcing is becoming a major issue across the country’s ports, such as in Recife and Itajai. Dockers planned to stage a national strike on 14 April in protest against the use of outsourced workers. However, this was called off following intervention from the Special Ports Secretary, who arranged for negotiations with workers in key ports to take place.
Airton Lima of the ITF-affiliated Confederaçao Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Transportes Aquaviarios e Aereos, na Pesca e nos Portos, stated: "The outsourcing of workers is a serious problem in Brazilian ports nowadays. It means not only a violation of ILO Convention 137 ratified by Brazil, but also unsafe conditions – accidents can occur particularly when workers are not well-trained and experienced. Even when the workers are hired from the regulated labour pool, this should be negotiated with port workers’ unions beforehand so that the rights and conditions of those workers can be guaranteed."
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