WHEN DO WORKERS STRIKE? REINTERPRETING THE OCCURRENCE OF STRIKES IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Dialoging with the different approaches present in the literature, this article tries to analyze the incidence of strikes in the different economic and political phases of Brazil in the last two decades and situating strikes within the current political and economic scenario, in addition to describing the organizational dynamics of the trade union movement. During this period, the incidence of strikes tended to decrease in times of high unemployment rates, and increase when those fell. No relation was found between strikes and wage gains. Analysis of the relationship between strikes and politics seems to corroborate the idea that in mid-left governments there is a lower volume of strikes than in mid-right governments, while the greater competition within the trade union movement, inferred by the number of unions in each year, was associated with a higher amount of strikes. These correlations, although inconclusive, indicate the way to further investigations, with the use of longer series and comparative analysis.

Keywords:
Strike; Trade Union; Institutions; Collective Action; Union Movement; Political Economy