STAECNON participated in the 21st Congress of the National Federation of Urban Workers.
The first day of the 21st Congress of the FNU – National Federation of Urban Workers – being held in Brasília, bringing together approximately one hundred delegates from all states of the country representing the unions of the categories that make up the Federation, was marked by the presentation of the boards' balance sheets for the last three years, throughout the morning of this Thursday (August 16th). Read the documents here: FNU BALANCE SHEET
The president of FNU, Pedro Blois, emphasized all the work of struggle and resistance developed by the current board and thanked all the members for their efforts.
In the afternoon, the panel discussion “Political Situation and the Struggle in Defense of Public Companies” took place, with the participation of four guests: Clemente Ganz Lúcio, technical director of DIEESE; Sérgio Nobre, general secretary of CUT Nacional; Simão Zanardi, general coordinator of the Unified Federation of Petroleum Workers – FUP; and Joceli Andreolli, national coordinator of the Movement of People Affected by Dams – MAB.
Simão Zanardi analyzed the national situation, especially the coup that took place in the country, which he described as a very efficient media and legal coup, keeping former president Lula imprisoned. According to him, there are two groups in the country today: the nationalists who defend national sovereignty and the sell-outs who want to sell off our national resources.
The oil workers' union leader described the process of dismantling Petrobras has undergone since Pedro Parente took over as president of the company. "He represents the neoliberals who have no commitment to the people and only work for the market," he said.
In the process of restructuring Petrobras, there was first a Voluntary Dismissal Plan (PDV), in which 20,000 workers and union leaders left, and then the introduction of a study plan for automation, something very similar to what is happening with Eletrobras.
Workers' and Peasants' Platform: Water and Energy are Strategic Issues
MAB representative Joceli Andreolli explained that the Workers' and Peasants' Platform has placed the issue of water and energy as a strategic priority. "The idea is to work towards defending our sovereignty and discussing the Brazil we want," he said.
According to him, today Brazil is being guided by an international logic of services caused by the crisis of capitalism, and the core of this crisis is American imperialism. And the logic of American politics interfered in Brazil with a coup that is disputing the pre-salt oil reserves, wanting to remove Brazil as a main player in South America and make our country unviable as a major power. "Water and energy have strategic value," Joceli emphasized.
A CHALLENGE: RESTRUCTURING TRADE UNIONISM
Director Clemente Ganz Lúcio, from Dieese, explained the need for a restructuring of unions. "Unionism is being challenged to transform itself because capitalism is promoting a profound change based on technology and assets," he said. Given this, Clemente emphasized that the current union structure will not be able to cope with the current situation.
Regarding the loss of workers' rights, the Dieese leader highlighted the speed with which Brazil implemented labor reform, a result of the coup the country has been experiencing since 2016. "It took Spain 20 years to approve all the points that the Brazilian Congress did in just three weeks," Clemente observed.
The leader of the CUT National union, Sérgio Nobre, spoke about the coup the country is facing and the importance of the people electing a president in the elections who is committed to making the necessary reforms for the country to return to having a popular and democratic project.
However, he stressed that, for this to happen, workers need to be united and there is a need for an even stronger CUT (Unified Workers' Central). To confront this, “we can no longer have corporatism. We have to look beyond our own sector, build bridges and bring the struggle to everyone. It is the unity of the entire movement, including with other labor unions,” he argued.
Sérgio Nobre further explained that the world of work is being divided into two types: those countries that possess technology and those that are dependent on that technology. "In Brazil, the coup plotters have already chosen the side of dependency. And are we, the workers, going to let that happen?" he questioned.
Source: FNU
