On Sunday, the 27, oil workers from different bases and refineries from Petrobras stopped in support to the strike and mobilization of Teamsters and against the privatization of Petrobras, responsible for the major rise of fuel prices in the last period.
By PSTU-Brazil.
“The rise in fuel prices happens due to the lack of investments in refine and the policy of privatization of the Petrobras,” explain Reynaldo Santana, oil workers from the Henrique Lage refinery (Revap) in Sao Jose dos Campos, and member of the group Oil Workers in Struggle, from CSP-Conlutas.
The rank and file demonstration affected not only the refinery of Vale da Paraiba but also the refineries from Duque de Caxias (RJ), Cubatao, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul. In these refineries, oil workers began the struggle by not covering the shifts [corte de rendição]. The refineries work in alternated shifts, and the corte de rendição is when a worker does not substitute the colleague that was working in the same task. In practice, this is a strike although it does not paralyze the production completely, as in these cases the company does not release the previous group of workers from the tasks.
Oil workers also denounce the Army intervention in the Teamsters’ strike and the military occupation of refineries and bases from Petrobras.
100% State Petrobras
The Teamsters’ strike has brought light to the struggle that oil workers were already carrying against the privatization of the company. “We knew about the closure of fertilizing factories from Petrobras in Bahia and Sergipe, and now they announced the sale of four refineries, two in the North East and two in the South,” explains Reynaldo.
The rise of fuel prices is directly linked to the selling of the refineries, as it is a policy of the government and the direction of the Petrobras to make the industry more interesting to private, international capital. The alignment of oil prices with the international markets follows this logic. The privatization and lack of investment in refining made the diesel export explode, as it increased over 200% over the last two years.
“Oil workers must join their struggle to the Teamsters’ to defeat them and take Parente and Temer out, and guarantee a 100% State Petrobras, under workers’ control,” explains Reynaldo.
On Sunday afternoon, the CSP-Conlutas National Coordination approved a call to all Federations to organize a General Strike.
