Caixa Strike Continues Over Brazil Bank Health Cover
BRAZIL · LABOUR
Key Facts
- —The banks Caixa and Banco do Brasil, both state-controlled, between them among the largest in Latin America.
- —What Caixa does It pays unemployment benefit, runs social programmes and finances most Brazilian mortgages.
- —The dispute Not pay. The staff health plan, and how much employees must put into it.
- —What happened Sunday Caixa went back to the table and withdrew the changes it had imposed.
- —Where the strike stands Still on. In São Paulo, 68% rejected the final offer.
- —The other bank Banco do Brasil settled on 11 September. Its staff went back to work on Monday.
Two Brazilian state banks went into the same negotiation. One bought its way out with a bonus. The other is still shut, over a health plan.
Caixa reopened negotiations with striking staff on Sunday and withdrew the benefit changes it had imposed. The branches stayed closed anyway.
What Caixa Gave Up
On Sunday 13 September the bank agreed to reopen the negotiating table.
It also suspended the measures on staff benefits it had announced unilaterally. That suspension was the condition the unions had set.
The request had gone in the day before. The banking federation Contraf-CUT confirmed the result.
Luiza Hansen, who coordinates the staff committee at Caixa, called it an important step. She did not call it a settlement.
The Argument Is About a Health Plan
Saúde Caixa is the bank’s own medical scheme, and it is the whole dispute.
The disputed terms would have staff paying between 2.30% and 4.10% of their base salary into it.
Fees for dependants would run from 480 to 660 reais a month, roughly US$88 to US$121.
The scheme’s cost ceiling would rise from 6.5% to 8%. Staff read that as medical inflation being moved onto them.
Health cover is the most valuable thing a Brazilian bank employee holds. Private medicine is expensive and public queues are long.
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How Solid the Strike Is
In the São Paulo and Osasco union base, 68% rejected the final offer at a Friday assembly.
Contraf-CUT says more than 90% of bases had rejected the earlier text.
On the first day of the strike, 245 of 283 Caixa branches closed in that same São Paulo base.
A protest was called for Monday on Avenida Paulista, with a national committee of bank workers meeting online that afternoon.
Banco do Brasil Took the Other Road
The other federal bank settled on 11 September.
It offered 0.6% above the INPC inflation index, with profit-share paid within 72 hours. Each employee also receives a bonus of 3,000 reais, about US$551.
Paternity leave went from 20 days to 35. The bank advanced 360 million reais, roughly US$66 million, to its own staff health fund.
That last item is the tell. Banco do Brasil put money into the health scheme. Caixa asked staff to put money in.
Most bases approved and returned on Monday. Around 18 rejected the agreement, according to the staff committee.
One State, Two Results
Paraíba, in the north-east, produced two accounts of the same vote on the same night.
One local outlet reported on 11 September that Banco do Brasil staff had voted to stay out. It gave 504 votes cast, 261 to continue and 231 to end.
Another outlet, and the state banking union’s own website, reported approval with 81.57%. That count was 354 for and 72 against, from 434 votes.
The electorates do not match, which points to two assemblies rather than one disputed count. No source has said so.
What is not in doubt is where Paraíba stands now. Its Banco do Brasil staff are back at work, and its Caixa staff are not.
Why This Reaches Beyond Bank Customers
Caixa is not an ordinary bank. It administers unemployment insurance, social transfer programmes and the main housing finance system.
A prolonged strike there touches people who have never had an account with it.
The split between the two banks also shows the shape of the dispute. Pay was settleable in both. The health plan was not.
No new Caixa offer has been published, and no date has been set for a vote on one.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Caixa agree to?
It reopened negotiations on 13 September and withdrew the benefit changes it had imposed.
Is the strike over?
No. Caixa staff remain out, with 68% rejecting the final offer in the São Paulo base.
What is the dispute about?
Saúde Caixa, the staff health plan, and contributions of 2.30% to 4.10% of base salary.
Did Banco do Brasil settle?
Yes, on 11 September. Most of its staff returned to work on 14 September.
What were the Banco do Brasil terms?
0.6% above the INPC index, profit-share within 72 hours and a bonus of 3,000 reais, about US$551.
Why does a Caixa strike matter?
It administers unemployment benefit, social programmes and most Brazilian mortgage finance.
Sources: Contraf-CUT, Sindicato dos Bancários de Campo Grande, Metrópoles, Paraíba Online, Jampa News.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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