Altamiro Borges is a Brazilian journalist engaged in the syndical and political fight. He has seven published books. He writes articles for several sites, like Vemelho and Adital. He is publisher of the magazine Union Management Debate. He is an important reference for the Brazilian left movement. At this exact time, in June, 2008, Borges is an optimistic militant with conditions that favor retaking of the good union fight.   

In 2005, in the book “A Encruzilhada do Sindicalismo”, the journalist drew a scenario that was little favorable to the organized Brazilian workers union. Three years were enough for this scenario to change, and for the better. It is what he discusses in his newest book, “Sindicalismo, resistência e alternativas”.   

In this interview with the column U-M Debate, Altamiro Borges talks about the fragility of the empire of evil, the United States, as one of the factors which favor the correlation of forces for social movements, like the union. And he highlights the fight for the reduction of the work day to 40 hours weekly as the great uniting flag of the Brazilian union movement. 

  Image: Eduardo Nunes 

U-M Debate – For what and why do the workers fight today? 

Altamiro Borges – I think that today the great workers’ fight is for reduction of the work day to 40 hours weekly. This fight was able to unify the main Brazilian union centers. The federal government understands this fight. Recently, president Lula affirmed that there is a large growth in profitability of companies because of higher productivity due to new technologies and that it was time to distribute this profitability, so he defended the reduction of the day. This fight interests unemployed and active workers. The unemployed, because Dieese calculates that reducing work from 44 to 40 hours weekly would create two million, 250 thousand jobs. And if, besides this, overtime is controlled, hours banks, which are an abnormality, would be ended and adopting other measures to the issue of extra hours, another one million 100 thousand jobs would be created. This, then, would result in a big generation of jobs. This happened in France, for example, when the week was reduced from 40 to 35 hours. 

U-M Debate - And the workers that are active? 

Altamiro Borges - It is interesting for the workers who are active. Today, most of the population is concentrated in urban centers, so they work eight, ten, 11 hours during the day, they lose three more hours in transport, (the worker) doesn’t have time for anything else. He has life without sense. By reducing the work day the worker has more time to study, for leisure, to participate in union activities, also, and he will have more time to date. That is a very positive thing. So I believe this is the big flag of the moment: reduction of work to 40 hours weekly.   

U-M Debate – Are there more flags or only this reduction of the work day? 

Altamiro Borges – There are two other flags that are gaining importance. Recently, the federal government sent a message (to the National Congress) proposing ratification of conventions 151 and 158 of the International Work Organization (IWO). The first, 151, guarantees the right of the public servant to collective negotiation. And the second, 158, which I understand to be a measure of great impact, forbids unmotivated dismissal. Today, in Brazil, patronage uses unmotivated dismissal for two ends: one is to stimulate rotation to lower the salary, this is an economic reason; and the other is a political reason, a form of threat, if the person is unionized, participates in an assembly or makes a criticism is airily dismissed. Convention 158 forbids these dismissals for political reasons. So that would have a great impact and it would strengthen the union movement a lot and would put an end to a great injustice.   

U-M Debate - You have a book titled “A Encruzilhada do Sindicalismo”, and just launched the book "Sindicalismo, resistência e alternativas". To which union, resistance and alternatives are you referring? 

Altamiro Borges –There is a difference of three years from one book to the other. For three years, I have been evaluating changes that occurred in the Work World and in the correlation of forces. 

U-M Debate - Do you refer to Brazil or is it a factor of change in world unionism?   

Altamiro Borges - Worldwide. The union movement is not an island. It reflects what happens in society. It contemplates and interferes. So it depends a lot on the correlation of forces. I think from three years ago to now there was an alteration in the correlation of forces. Why do I say that? For example, The United States, which in my understanding is humanity’s greatest enemy, weakened in this period. As professor Emir Sader says, you measure the force of an empire with weapons, money and words. And in the three requisites the United States weakened. They are suffering a mouthful in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of money, we don’t need to say anything, it is an economy that has "become moldy", totally parasitic, hung out on a peg, breaking. And words we will see the sad end of this terrorist president George W. Bush. He is about to be expelled from the White House. There is, also, a phenomenon in the United States which is dissatisfaction ended up being expressed in a candidate which nobody would imagine a short time ago, a black man, in a country which has a strong racist mark. This is a factor which favors the movement of people of the whole world, the empire of evil is fragile, and it is not that it is defeated or falling. 

The second factor is that it increases resistance in the whole world, be it of the youth movement which seeks if another world is possible, the resistance of rival powers which are being born, like China, India, Russia, even Brazil plays a role in this. Be it the resistance that happens to people on our Continent. Latin America is living an unpublished situation. Teacher José Luiz Fiori has been emphasizing this. Never before, in Latin America, has there been so many progressive governments, with differentiated rhythms and conceptions, they are dominating Latin America. This is also a factor which strengthens the workers fight. 

U-M Debate - And in Brazil? 

Altamiro Borges - In Brazil there are factors which strengthen the fight of the union movement. This shy growth of the economy, in spite of the "foot on the brake" of Henrique Meirelles" (president of the Central Bank) and the risks of the effects of the recession in the United States on Brazil, in spite of everything this shy growth of our economy generates jobs. When generating jobs, it increases the bargaining power of the workers. According to Dieese, almost 90% of the collective agreements last year obtained real wage increases, an unpublished fact in the last decades. We were only getting to correct inflation and look there, when it wasn’t below inflation the wage adjustment. This passes from the job. It increased the number of jobs, increases the worker’s bargaining power. For the first time in 20 years, there are workers asking to quit. He thinks he has conditions to get a better job. This increases worker self-esteem, as well. 

U-M Debate - Are we in a different scenario? 

Altamiro Borges - We are beginning to discuss measures of enlargement of rights, and not reducing them. It is the case of 40 weekly hours, of conventions 151 and 158, of the end of the benefit factor, which is an injustice with the retired and pensioners, of the legalization of the union headquarters. In other words, we are in a really different scenario, if the syndical movement will be able to take advantage of this to solve its structural crisis is another thing, only history will tell, but that the conditions today are more favorable I think so.