Workers begin 1,000-km march for minimum wage in Brazil

By Maria Osava

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Oct. 23 (IPS)— Trade unionists began a 1,000-km march Monday in Sao Paulo to demand a minimum monthly wage the equivalent of 95 dollars, underscoring the expanding pressure for higher salaries throughout numerous sectors in Brazil, including the military.

The march, begun by some 200 people and scheduled to arrive in Brasilia in early December, is a call for lawmakers to support the bill before parliament to raise the minimum wage from the current 151 reais (80 dollars), one of the lowest minimums in the world, to 180 reais (95 dollars) as of Jan. 1, 2001.

The demonstration, organized by the ‘Força Sindical’ union, is one of several actions that indicate the revitalization of the labor struggle, prompted by slight economic growth and the consequent reduction in unemployment, coupled with the salary cuts suffered in recent years.

Under such circumstances, the military police in the northeastern state of Pernambuco began a strike last Thursday, which justice authorities declared illegal, and on Monday 4,000 of the soldiers gathered outside the state government building, where they plan to remain until their demands are answered.

Army troops from the local barracks were mobilized to take charge of public safety in Pernambuco’s cities.

The Association of Sergeants, Soldiers and Fire-fighters, which is leading the movement, reported that the strike has spread to 80 percent of the 18,000 members of the state’s military police, though government sources indicate that less than 30 percent of the force is participating.

Governor Jarbas Vasconcelos threatened to fire those who continued to strike Monday, stressing that it is illegal for the troops to suspend the essential services they provide in maintaining the public order.

The strikers charge that the government is guilty of illegal actions because it pays them only half the national minimum wage. The police receive small additional sums for time in service and other benefits, but they are demanding the immediate correction of the pay scale.

For years, military officers have also been pressing for better salaries, arguing that they earn much less than any civilian with similar training and experience. But strikes or other forms of protest are off-limits to them.

Defense Minister Geraldo Quintao is seeking a solution through the “restructuring, but not an increase’’ of salaries as part of a modernization program in the armed forces.

The campaign for a higher minimum wage unites several sectors of society and puts the government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in a difficult spot. Raising the salary floor to the equivalent of 100 dollars per month is a promise the president made the first time he was elected in 1994.

Since early this year, the president of the Senate, Antonio Carlos Magalhaes, a powerful Cardoso ally, has taken up the banner of a 95-dollar minimum wage, joining ranks with his left-leaning political rivals and unionists.

The national budget for 2001 outlines a salary correction, which traditionally takes effect on May 1, of just 5.3 percent, the equivalent of inflation over the previous 12 months.

The union and parliamentary movement demands no less than a 19.2 percent raise as a means to reduce Brazil’s widespread poverty.