Civil servants stage 24-hour stoppage in Federal District

Civil servants of the Federal District performed an act to settle a general 24-hour work stoppage in the federal capital. Representatives from various sectors, including health care, education and traffic, have crowded the Buriti Plaza, outside the local government headquarters in Brasília.

Due to the stoppage, health care services and classes in schools were suspended. According to union leaders, the movement's central demand is to push up wage

On Wednesday (Sep. 23), Rodrigo Rollemberg, Governor of the Federal District, had already warned that no pay rise would be granted to civil servants this year "due to the lack of resources." "The unions know that. Our finances are public," he reported. "A strike won't make money come in," he added. The governor's statements were given during a live interview on the news program “Réporter DF” aired by TV Brasil (an EBC broadcaster).

Earlier this month, the government of the Federal District announced a set of measures to achieve fiscal balance, including the suspension of the adjustment in civil servants' pay from various sectors that were planned for this semester. According to the local government, the pay rise would bring the budget up by $95 million by the end of 2015.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta