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Over the past month, some regulators have been operating under a work-to-rule stance and have now planned a 24-hour warning strike on 4 July
Work-to-rule movement
Key federal agencies have been operating at a slower pace in recent weeks, causing delays in regulatory processes and foreign trade transactions, particularly in the licensing and clearance of cargo imports and exports. The slowdown movement, driven by regulators’ employee unions, aims to pressure the federal government to address demands for career planning and restructuring, higher pay, and better working conditions. Despite ongoing discussions since earlier this year, a consensus has yet to be reached.
24-hour warning strike
The staff of eleven federal agencies, including critical regulatory bodies such as ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency), ANP (National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels), ANTAQ (National Waterway Transport Agency), ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency), ANM (National Mining Agency), ANEEL (National Electricity Agency) and ANATEL (National Telecommunications Agency), have convened and decided to go on a 24-hour strike on 4 July 2024.
The National Union of Employees of National Regulatory Agencies (Sinagências) reports that 95% of its members have agreed to join the strike, which comes in a context of dissatisfaction with the government’s proposal for pay and career adjustments that do not meet the demands of the strikers.
Another point of contention is a need to recruit more staff through civil service examinations, as nearly four thousand vacancies have reportedly remained unfilled following layovers and retirements over recent years. Sinagências asserts that this shortage has significantly undermined the operational capacity of federal regulators.
Impact on foreign trade
Oil and gas
The ongoing partial strike by officials from IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), the environmental agency responsible for issuing licenses and consents to increase oil production and explore new fields, is already impacting Brazil’s oil output. Additionally, the slowdown in activities at ANP, which is responsible for licensing oil and gas products, monitoring and regulating the national fuel market, and granting permits for offshore platforms and refining operations, affects the O&G sector’s overall performance.
Port health clearances
Since mid-June, ANVISA officials have been under a go-slow regime, causing delays in granting free pratique and conducting shipboard sanitary inspections for issuing ship sanitation certificates. The industry fears that a full-fledged strike by the federal port health authority, however short, could significantly affect the ship operations, thereby contributing to logistical bottlenecks at ports and port accesses, as well as negatively impacting the clearance of goods that depend on ANVISA licences, such as agricultural and pharmaceutical products.
Prospects
The strike is expected to involve employees from eleven regulatory agencies. A bargaining table meeting between the union and the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services is scheduled for next week, so it is anticipated that staff might adopt a work-to-rule stance until an agreement is achieved. If negotiations fail, the union does not rule out another all-out strike.
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