Brazil's state-owned Caixa Econômica Federal has dropped its plan to take the national bank workers' strike to the TST, the Superior Labor Court and top tribunal for labor disputes, after employees rejected the bank's latest offer. The walkout, which began on Thursday, September 10, has left branches closed across the country with no end date.
According to Folha de S.Paulo, the decision was communicated on the night of Sunday, September 13, in a reply to a formal letter from Contraf-CUT, the national confederation of finance-sector workers. In the document, the bank said it would reopen the negotiating table and suspend the sanctions against strikers it had previously announced. In the reading of the São Paulo, Osasco and Region bank workers' union, the country's largest, the reply recognized the importance of collective bargaining and reaffirmed open channels of dialogue.
Timeline of the dispute
Talks over Caixa's own collective agreement, known as ACT, began in June and went through 13 rounds over more than two months, according to the union. On Wednesday, September 9, Fenaban, the national federation of banks, and the unions signed the industry-wide convention, which grants full restitution of inflation as measured by the INPC index plus a real increase of 0.6% in 2026 and 2027, and covers about 414,000 workers at 171 banks. Because the Caixa-specific items made no progress, workers walked out on September 10 after more than 90% of union branches rejected the bank's proposal, according to the bank's employees' commission (CEE). At Banco do Brasil, the stoppage is partial, limited to the bases that voted the deal down. On Friday night, September 11, Caixa employees rejected the bank's offer in assembly; in São Paulo, Osasco and the surrounding region, the largest base, 68% voted no.
The health plan dispute
The health plan is the main sticking point. The rejected offer included a recognition bonus of R$ 3,000 per employee, payment of the profit-sharing bonus (PLR) on Friday, September 18, and a rise in the funding ceiling of the Saúde Caixa plan from 6.5% to 8%. Under the plan, workers would pay between 2.30% and 4.10% of their base salary depending on age, plus R$ 480 to R$ 660 per dependent. Caixa also offered to bring forward its share of the plan's 13th installment for 2028, 2029 and 2030 to cover the Saúde Caixa deficit, to pay amounts owed under the PAMS medical assistance program from 2027, and to spend R$ 236 million on preventive health actions starting in January 2027.
For the unions, beyond the health plan, the agenda includes applying NR-1, the workplace health and safety rule, curbing targets seen as abusive and building healthier work environments. During the stoppage, Caixa tells customers to use digital channels such as its app, internet banking, the Caixa Tem app, ATMs and lottery outlets, and says the strike does not by itself suspend benefit payments.
In a statement issued when the strike began, Caixa said that:
"it keeps an open dialogue with the employees' representative bodies and has returned to the negotiating table with the goal of building an understanding that addresses the interests of all parties involved".
The negotiating table has been reopened, but as of the filing of this report no date had been set for the next round. The unions say the strike will continue until any progress is put before workers' assemblies.