BRAZILIAN CONSULATES ON STRIKE

Hello Everybody,



Clerical workers at the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in the USA, Canada and European Union have begun a strike that will last for an undetermined period of time. This will interrupt various consular services such as issue of visas, legalization of documents, consular translations and services to Brazilian citizens abroad as well.

Obviously with less than a month to the beginning of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil this will impact greatly on those still waiting for visas in order to attend this international event.

Workers in these consulates are demanding that they get the benefit of labor laws and benefits either in effect in the nation in which the consulate is located OR in Brazil, whichever are higher. They want this to include holidays and holiday pay, 13th salary, paid maternity leave, overtime, etc., which would be the greater between the two countries.

I find it ironic in the extreme that while the Brazilian government demands that foreign consulates here in Brazil do exactly this, offer their employees these same benefits based on whichever is higher; they are unwilling to apply the same standard to their diplomatic facilities abroad. Itamaraty has stated that consulates in foreign countries are governed by the existing labor laws in those nations. What they are not saying is that there is absolutely NOTHING to prevent the Brazilian government from paying wages, overtime and offer benefits that exceed those foreign labor laws. These laws are a base from which one starts out; they are not an upper limit or cap!

It is unclear just how drastic the effects of the strike are going to be. And while sources here are saying that workers from other diplomatic sectors will be re-allocated to fill critical positions it is obvious that things are not going to be good. If you're waiting for a visa or other consular services plan on waiting for quite some time.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team