A strike by bank workers across Brazil entered its 30th day Wednesday, with branches shuttered for the longest stretch in a decade to force a 15 percent pay rise. Talks were scheduled later in the day in a bid to end the deadlock and get bank branches across Latin America's biggest country reopened for frustrated customers.
"We have talks today at 5:00 pm (2000 GMT) in Sao Paulo. We'll see what the banks do," said Rodrigo Zevzikovas, spokesman for the Contraf-CUT union representing financial services workers. The strikers are seeking a pay increase of almost 15 percent, in part to offset Brazil's inflation, currently at a nine percent annual rate. Zevzikovas said the last offer rejected by workers had been a seven percent pay increase with a one-time bonus of 3,500 reais ($1,082).
Retail bank strikes are something of a ritual in Brazil, but this was the longest-running industrial action since 2004. According to Estadao de Sao Paulo newspaper, about 55 percent of branches around the country were shut. Bank employees continue to receive salaries while on strike, making work stoppages relatively painless. "We have a strike just about every year.