The doors of Caixa Econômica Federal branches across Goiânia and the interior of Goiás have been shut since Tuesday (8), after 96.5% of the employees who voted rejected the bank's offer, according to the bank workers' union in the state. From Thursday (10), the same scene spreads across much of Brazil: workers at Caixa, the state-owned bank behind public lotteries and much of the country's housing finance, begin an open-ended strike approved in union assemblies, where rejection topped 90% in several states. The standoff reaches the negotiating table on the very same day, at 9 am in São Paulo, when the bank sits down again with Contec, the confederation representing the category.
The collective bargaining agreement for 2026/2028 expired on August 31, and its terms were being provisionally extended. With no deal, Contec formally notified the bank of the strike under Brazil's strike law, Lei 7.783/1989. Only after the wave of rejections did Caixa ask for talks to resume, in a formal letter to the unions, and signal that it could keep extending the old agreement while a new text is drafted. "After all the assemblies across Brazil rejected the proposal presented by Caixa, with some states already on strike and most entering a stoppage from this Thursday, the bank decided to reopen negotiations. We hope Caixa brings a proposal that can meet the workers' demands", said Willian Louzada, who coordinates the Contec/Caixa negotiating table.
The Saúde Caixa health plan at the center
The main point of friction is Saúde Caixa, the health plan covering active employees, retirees, pensioners and dependents. According to Contec, the bank's offer raises costs for beneficiaries and could mean, in some cases, an increase of about 50% over the amounts paid today. The changes were said to have reached the table in the final stretch of negotiations, without time for workers to assess the impact, and without clarity on how much Caixa itself would contribute to keep the plan afloat.
"Contec, under the Strike Law and in view of the rejection of the employer's proposal by the general assemblies, informs that Caixa employees will be on strike from September 10, 2026, for an indefinite period", said confederation president Lourenço Prado.
The strain over the plan has been building for years. Claudia Bahia, vice president of the Goiás managers' association Agecef-GO and a regional director of the managers' federation Fenag, told g1 that the funding rule changed in 2017: Caixa used to cover 70% of costs while employees paid 30%; since then, the bank's contribution has been capped at 6.5% of payroll, with the excess passed on to workers. "It is not enough to discuss a raise of 0.6% above inflation, because the rising cost of the plan can mean a far greater financial loss", she said, referring to the INPC plus 0.6% offer that Fenaban, the employers' federation of private banks, put on the table for commercial banks.
A strike already underway in parts of the country
The national stoppage has precedents: in Pará, a general bank strike began on September 4 and closed about 70% of the state's branches and service posts; in Maranhão and Rio Grande do Norte, the movement started on September 8. The magazine Veja reports that the mobilization also touches Banco do Brasil and regional lenders such as Banco da Amazônia and Banco do Nordeste in some states. For Caixa customers, in-person service is expected to be reduced at affected branches, while the app, internet banking, ATMs and Pix remain alternatives for the operations those channels allow.
In Goiás, where the assembly was held online and ended with 96.5% rejection, the union says adherence keeps growing. The doors are set to stay shut for an indefinite period. What can change the scene is Thursday's negotiating round at 9 am: without an offer able to win over the rank and file, branches in Goiânia and elsewhere are likely to wake up closed once again.