Central Bank strikes spread to foreign trade

After more than a week of the Central Bank’s public servants being on strike, Brazilian foreign trade analysts stopped work on Monday to demand better pay. While the stoppage only occurred between 2 pm and 6 pm, it affected commercial operations worth over BRL 50 million, according to the Association of Foreign Trade Analysts (AACE).

According to the organization, the stoppage affected the issuance of import licenses and drawback acts. Therefore, the organization estimates that the Foreign Trade Secretariat would have failed to approve a number of import and export operations worth tens of millions of Brazilian Reais.

The secretariat was also forced to delay the disclosure of its weekly trade balance by around five hours. In addition, meetings and trade agreement negotiations were canceled.

Analysts will stage another walkout between April 18 and 20. Other employees are also expected to mobilize, demanding increased wages. Today, it is the turn of analysts and technicians of the Planning and Budget Secretariat and employees of Brazil’s Securities Commission. On Wednesday, auditors and technicians from the Public Treasury and employees of the Superintendency of Private Insurance (Susep) will stage their own strikes.

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