Brazil
Organization responsible for the statistics
The statistics are collected by the regional offices of the
Ministério do Trabalho, and compiled by the Divis&atild;o de Segurança
e Informaç&atild;o and the Secretaria de Emprego e Salário of the
Ministério. The Secretaria de Emprego e Salário is responsible
for the publication of the statistics.
Objectives and users
Not available.
Coverage
Strikes and lockouts
The statistics cover:
- constitutional or official strikes
- unofficial strikes
- sympathetic strikes
- political or protest strikes
- general strikes
- rotating or revolving strikes
- warning strikes (short, of predetermined duration)
- working to rule
- go-slows
- sit-ins
Work stoppages initiated by employers are not included in the
statistics, nor are overtime bans.
Minimum threshold:
None.
Economic activities
No particular branches of economic activity or sectors are
excluded.
Workers
Workers directly involved only. As well as regular paid
employees, including part-time workers, the statistics cover
temporary, casual and seasonal workers. Unpaid family workers
are not included. It is uncertain whether the number of workers
involved includes workers laid off, or workers absent on sick or
annual leave; this is possibly decided at the enterprise level.
No particular occupational groups are excluded.
Geographic areas
Whole country.
Types of data collected
- number of strikes
- number of workers involved
- duration
- time not worked
- category of workers involved
- scope of the strike (enterprise, one or more categories,
general)
- economic sector
- geographical scope (municipality, state, nationwide, general)
- type of demands (wages, work conditions, operations, etc.)
- results obtained
- cause of dispute
Concepts and definitions
Strike (greve)
A temporary work stoppage wilfully effected by a group of
workers on the basis of a proposal or command.
Lockout
A work stoppage effected by the employer.
Methods of measurement
Strikes and lockouts
The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike is the case
of dispute. Other criteria for determining the number of strikes
include the geographical scope, and the beginning and ending
dates. The resumption of a strike that is interrupted, still due
to the same case of dispute, is treated as the same strike if the
period of interruption does not exceed 48 hours; otherwise it is
counted as a new strike.
Work stoppages arising from the same case of dispute,
occurring simultaneously in different establishments of the same
enterprise or in establishments of different enterprises are
counted as the same strike. Work stoppages occurring at
different times either in different establishments of the same
enterprise or in establishments of different enterprises are
counted as a single strike if the cause of dispute is common to
all (and bearing in mind the other measurement criteria mentioned
above).
Workers involved
The number of workers involved is the average of the number of
daily absences during the period of the strike. Part-time
workers are counted as individuals on the same basis as full-time
workers.
Duration
The duration is measured in calendar days from the date the
strike began in the first economic unit involved up to the date
it terminated in the last one. The duration of a strike lasting
at least ten hours, but not more than 24 hours, is counted as one
day.
Time not worked
Total time not worked, generally measured in workdays, is the
product of the number of workers involved and the duration of the
strike. If the strike lasts less than ten hours, it
is measured in work hours. The shorter working hours of
part-time workers are not taken into account, nor is overtime.
Classifications
Cause of dispute
- wage demands
- bonuses
- conditions of work
- operational situation
- trade union rights
- enterprise welfare policies
- non compliance with collective agreement
- political demands, solidarity
- no information
Each group is further divided to a more detailed level; only the
major groups are given here.
Outcome of dispute
- demands accepted
- demands partially accepted
- demands not accepted
- warning strike
- no information
Branch of economic activity
The data are classified by economic activity. The divisions of
economic activity are represented by ten workers' confederations,
each divided into groups representing the economic activity of
its workers. The ten confederations represent workers in the
following areas:
- industry
- commerce
- sea, rail and air transport
- road transport
- communications and publicity
- banking enterprises
- education and cultural establishments
- civil servants
- independent or self-employed
- rural
Number of workers involved
- 10 or fewer
- 11 to 100
- over 100
- information not available
Duration
- 1 hour
- 2 hours
- 3 hours
- 9 hours (more than 9 hours = 1 day)
- 1 day
- 2 days
- 3 days
- 10 days
- 150 days
- no information
Scope of strike:
- one enterprise or establishment
- several establishments of a given enterprise
- several enterprises in the same category
- workers in the same category
- a group of several categories
- general strike
- no information
Other
- sector (private, local, state, federal, etc.)
- geographical scope (municipal, more than one municipality,
state, more than one state, national, general strike, no
information)
- geographical location (by state)
Reference period and periodicity
The statistics are compiled and published for periods of a month
and a year. They refer to strikes beginning during the
particular reference period plus those continuing from the
previous period.
Analytical measures
- weighted average of number of days per strike (used as an
indicator of the average duration of strikes)
Historical background of the series
Not available.
Documentation
Series available
Not available.
Bibliographic references
Ministério do Trabalho, Secretaria de Emprego e Salário:
Sinopse das greves (monthly).
Data published by the ILO
The number of strikes and lockouts, the number of workers involved
and the number of days not worked.
Confidentiality
Not available.
International standards
Not available.
Methods of data collection
There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a
strike. A standard form is used to report the strike to regional
labour offices, which transmit the information to the Ministério
do Trabalho (Divis&atild;o de Segurança e Informaç&atild;o). The regional
office report form identifies the establishment, the number of
workers in the firm, the beginning and ending dates of the
strike, the number of workers involved, their demands, and the
outcome of the strike.