“Brazilian autoworkers strike after Renault fires 747 workers”, 25 July 2020

After carmaker Renault announced the firing of 747 employees at its plant in São José dos Pinhais in the southern state of Paraná, more than 7,000 of the factory’s workers voted unanimously in favor of a strike, which began on Wednesday.

This slashing of jobs comes on top of the termination of 300 workers on temporary contracts in mid-May. The end of their contracts was anticipated by the corporation’s reduction of up to 70 percent of their hours and wages, which were funded by the Brazilian government. In June, about 400 Nissan workers were fired at the plant in Resende, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. As the two companies operate under a partnership, the factories in Resende and São José dos Pinhais have a shared production structure. Anger among Renault’s workers has been ignited by the fact that most of those laid off this week were employees out because of work-related injuries, or even due to coronavirus infections…

A statement signed by all the trade union federations, including the Morenoite-led CSP-Conlutas, declared: “We repudiate the intransigent attitude of the current management of the Renault plant in São José dos Pinhais/PR, because we know that the company has been receiving fiscal incentives from the Paraná state government precisely to generate and maintain jobs.”...