Brazil’s labor court ends Caixa strike while preserving key worker protections

Brazil’s labor court ends Caixa strike while preserving key worker protections
Brazil’s Superior Labor Court (TST) ordered employees of state-owned lender Caixa Econômica Federal to immediately end their strike, which began on September 10. But the ruling also rejected the view that the stoppage was improper, finding that “the strike by Caixa Econômica Federal employees is not abusive.”

The decision balances two competing positions. Workers and unions had sought to remove a cap tying Saúde Caixa health-plan spending to 6.5% of payroll, restore a 70/30 employer-to-employee funding split and avoid premium increases. Caixa, by contrast, argued that changes were needed to ensure the plan’s financial sustainability.

Rather than adopt either side’s proposed overhaul, the court retained the rules in the previous 2024–26 collective agreement. That means the plan’s principal-holder contribution remains 3.5% of pay, while other provisions covering dependants, co-payments and contribution limits also stay in place.

Employees will not have their strike days deducted from pay, although they must make up the lost time within 180 days. The court set a salary increase equal to 100% of the National Consumer Price Index plus 0.6%, effective for two years. The same formula applies to meal, food-basket, childcare and other benefits.

The ruling also carries forward social and workplace clauses on hours, overtime, parental leave, job security, remote work, equal pay, inclusion and protections against violence and harassment. In effect, the TST ended the industrial action while limiting changes to the benefits structure that had driven the dispute.

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