2023-10-01 19:53:58
In São Paulo, the fight is against the privatization plan of the Tarcísio government. Federal employees mobilize against the vagaries of the Lula government
By: CSP-Conlutas, Brazil
Metro and Railway workers approved a unified union strike day for next October 3. The mobilization is against the plans of Bolsonaro governor Tarcísio de Freitas to privatize the respective public companies.
The date promises to be a strong day of struggle, with the unprecedented unification of these unions, but also with other mobilized sectors. Sintaema, a union that represents segurasp workers [agua, de São Paulo], which is also on Tarcísio’s privatization list, could join the strike. Another sector that can stop are the federal public employees who are in a salary campaign and approved in the plenary session last Saturday (16) to carry out mobilizations and strikes in the union, throughout the country, on the 3rd, due to the stagnation of the negotiations with the Lula government.
Plebiscite against privatizations grows
The 3/10 strike is part of the campaign initiated by the workers’ unions of segurasp, CPTM and Metro de São Paulo to block Tarcísio’s privatization package, and has, as one of its main actions, a popular plebiscite . Launched two weeks ago, in a large plenary session, the plebiscite against the privatization of Buscasp, Metro and CPTM is spreading throughout the State.
According to the campaign’s official website, 36 cities are already collecting votes from the population, the majority of whom are against the delivery of public goods to the private sector. The success of the campaign led the entities to extend the consultation until November and the goal is to obtain one million votes.
To consult the voting places you can access the official website of the plebiscist ( contraprivatizacao.com ), as well as opening hours. At the virtual address it is also possible to have information on how to register to be one of the organizers of the election.
Privatization, no!
Public transport, water and basic sanitation are basic rights for the survival of the working class and governments have the duty to guarantee the provision of these services. However, what we see is that these sectors, as well as others, such as Health and Education, are increasingly targets of the greed and avarice of the private sectors to guarantee profits.
For workers and the majority of the poor, what remains is rising rates, worsening service delivery and rising unemployment as a result of privatization. At the end of the day, business owners just want to increase their profits.
The Bolsonarista Tarcísio de Freitas wants to apply this disastrous policy with iron and fire and prepare a true liquidation of public assets with the privatization of these three strategic state companies.
However, this surrender is not exclusive to the São Paulo governor. The Lula government also applies this policy through mechanisms such as the PPP (APP – Public-Private Partnerships), a law created by Fernando Haddad, back in 2004, which is nothing more than a covert privatization, financed with public money.
“In the assembly of metro workers we defended unifying everything and bringing together all sectors to massify the strike and the popular plebiscite against the privatizations of the Tarcísio government, but also against the PPP Law created by Haddad in Lula’s first government. Law that allowed the privatization of Lines 4 and 5 of the Metro, lines 8 and 9 of the CPTM, and that is once again at the base of the new PAC of Lula and Alckmin and that could be a new PPP to privatize all basic sanitation services from the country” explains Altino Prazeres, leader of the São Paulo Metro Workers Union and member of the National Executive Secretariat of the CSP-Conlutas.
The leader also recalls that the privatization of the Belo Horizonte Metro, initiated by Bolsonaro but culminated with the connivance of the Lula government this year, was also based on the PPP law. A threat that also looms over the Recife Metro.
“Therefore, the unification of struggles is fundamental, as is the independence of workers’ organizations from all governments, whether right-wing or left-wing. The fight has to be in defense of the interests and rights of the working class”Altino stated.
Mobilized public employees
Federal public employees will also hold a national day of struggles and strikes on the 3rd. The day of mobilization was approved in the plenary session held last Saturday (16).
Reasons are not lacking. After seeing the Lula government offer a 0.7% increase, there is nothing left to negotiate without a mobilization at the grassroots. The proposal is to hold protests and strikes on the 3rd and join forces for a general strike of public employees, since, in addition to years of salary losses, the administrative reform, blocked in the Bolsonaro government, is about to return with the government of Lula. Even Minister Fernando Haddad already defended this reform and declared that he will negotiate the measure in Congress with the Centrão.
Therefore, the mobilization has to be now!
It is also worth noting that we are witnessing a strong unified struggle by USP students. [Universidad de São Paulo], which began with a strike in the Arts major and spread to dozens of other university majors. There is already a climate of solidarity and a call for the unification of the struggles of workers and students and it can advance depending on how the mobilization develops.
Article published in www.pstu.org.br21/9/2023.-
Translation: Natalia Estrada.
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