Since 01 February, Brazil’s semi-public Brazilian multinational corporation, Petrobras has been hit with strike action that has now extended to almost 90 of its industrial sites (oil platforms and refineries, electric power stations, terminals, administration centers etc.). According to the Federação Única dos Petroleiros group of unions, or FUP (petroleum workers federation), almost 20,000 employees are now on strike.
The labor action is in protest at the closure of a fertilizer factory in the state of Paraná and the resultant layoffs of 396 staff. Almost 600 sub-contractor jobs have also been affected. The factory closure is part of the Bolsonaro government’s broad ranging plans to shed assets from its public companies including Petrobras, which alone employs more than 600,000 workers.
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