Union victory in Bahia

BRAZIL: A strike by 4,700 workers at Ford's auto plant in Camaçari, in the northeastern state of Bahia, ended after three days, on March 24, with the Bahia Metalworkers' Union and company management reaching an agreement on wage increases. The deal sets forth an overall average pay rise of 15 per cent, representing an immediate real wage hike of 8 per cent, a reduction in workers' contributions to transportation vouchers equal to another 5 per cent, and a decrease in safety and health costs adding an additional 2 per cent. It was also agreed that workers' plant committees will be set up. According to the union's president, Aurino Pedreira, the dispute focused on the difference between local metalworkers' wages and those paid by Ford. The average monthly wage of a metalworker in Bahia is 800 reals (US$236), whereas Ford workers have been earning an average of only 550 reals (US$162). This year's negotiations contrast with the April 2002 talks, when a number of workers were injured in an unprovoked attack by military police. About 1,700 of the workers at the Camaçari plant, which opened in October 2001 and produces the Fiesta as well as the new EcoSport model, are directly employed by Ford, and the others are employed by over 30 suppliers also operating in the plant. The Bahia Metalworkers' Union is affiliated to the CNM/CUT.