Gov’t appeals for oil workers not to strike

Brazilian Chief-of-Staff Eliseu Padilha said Monday (May 28) that President Michel Temer has talked to Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente about the threat of a strike by oil workers.

Padilha appealed for workers not to stage a strike at such a delicate moment—when the country is being refueled after the inconvenience caused by the truckers’ strike. The state-controlled oil giant is already negotiating with workers in a bid to prevent any work stoppages from taking place, Padilha said.

Oil workers announced they planned to stage a countrywide strike next Wednesday (30) for 72 hours as a “warning.” The demonstration is being organized by the Unified Oil Workers Federation and its affiliated unions.

In a note, the federation described the stoppage as an attempt to press for the reduction of the prices of liquefied petroleum gas and fuels. The organization also opposed Pedro Parente’s administration. Nonetheless, the government said Sunday (27) that Parente is not leaving his post. “The president was most fortunate in his decision to choose him,” Padilha said in an interview today.