Cops, firefighters, prison guards walk out over pay despite decision to give them a 39 percent raise
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comPolice strike in Rio, bringing fears for Carnival
Seeded on Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:36 AM EST (msnbc.com)
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Most cops here have decent working conditions, and the big city cops mostly get paid well with very good pensions. Yet we still get these cops who should be fired, when you see unprovoked attacks on citizens in video and the cop has a history of violence you would think decent cops would want that person fired yet we still get the gang mentality from officers, us against the citizens. They sometimes forget who is paying them and take for granted the respect they get. Officers should understand that its a privilege to wear the uniform and not a right.
what's that have to do with the cesspool backing up in Rio?
I think Brazil better pay up before civil order blows up. Its already a ticking time bomb. God help the Olympics coming up there.
A privilege? While your government extorts money from every aspect of its society and treats its people like serfs...you throw the "they should be proud to just wear the uniform!"
You can't instill pride and honor in someone without first demonstrating respect towards them. The condition of your police force is a DIRECT reflection of the political structure.
The writer tells us the police are poorly paid but never gives an example of their pay vs other professions like office worker, garbage collector, etc...just how underpaid are they???
How is the reader to judge if no figures are supplied?
And the lame politicians they are negotiating with do not bear the burden of their demands except in a small way. You and I, the taxpayers who have nothing to say about the agreement are the ones that have to come up with the money in the form of higher taxes.
A Syndicalist leader affirms here that the average MONTHLY salary of a Police office in RIO. (A SOLDADO) is R$900.00 per month... NOT 9 THOUSAND... 9 HUNDRED REAIS...
That's about U$525.00... 525.00 DOLLARS...
Unfortunately, I can't post links here... My sources are FOLHA DE SÃO PAULO and O GLOBO(2 major news papers from Brazil)
Great "Privilege" isn't it?
Public Services strikes are a cyclical occurrence in Brasil. Especially prior to major events such as Carnival, World Cup and Olympics. It is how pay raises are guaranteed. The public is held hostage and complain to the politicians which in turn negotiate a settlement and the public get to pay more taxes. A never ending cycle. Base pay is not average pay.
Trying to get money out of the hand of a Brazilian politician is like trying to squeeze a diamond out of a piece of coal.
Exactly. But they are quick to increase their own salaries which are the highest in the World for ANY politician. The local politicians in DF just voted their own salaries up 77%.
i hate to see what happens when they host the world cup and Olympics...why would you give these games to a 3rd world country???
Because only first world countries are worthy. BTW, what makes a 3rd and 1st World country in your mind....
BTW... The world cup has already been held in Brazil once in 1950.
The whole point of the world cup is to attract investments in Sports, Education and Infrastructure... Hence FIFA's tough rules for tourism, security and accommodations.
It actually makes sense to bring the cup to a 3rd world country if you look at it by the development perspective.
South Africa, for example, was a HUGE success and the people can now enjoy great infrastructure.
Why do you think every country wants to be host of these games???
I wonder how many people will attend the 2016 Olymipics? This was a poor choice.
simple - it was a political / financial choice, Rio gave the most kickbacks to host the games...
they have absolutely no way of providing security to any of the visitors or athletes - when their own police force is corruption ridden...
a lot can change from now till then
39% raise you've got to be kidding !! . If we get 3% at my job we're lucky. This is just another reason why governmnet or civil employees should not be allowed to unionize. F.D.R. & SAMUEL GOMPERS said so. So put that in your pipe & smoke it.
Don't abuse worker's right and you wouldn't have to worry about labor unions.
Public Service union employees do NOT have the right to strike and hold the taxpayers hostage.
Uh huh, sure.
I'm an American living in Brazil where the monthly salary for the common person is $300 a month. Some of the Military Police here make between $3,000-$4,000 per month. The country is full of corruption and paying these guys more money will not stop their greed. They will continue to take bribes and payoffs. The President is trying her best to crackdown on corruption but it's rooted deep in the culture and it's going to be a difficult task. The World Cup is coming and these people will wait until the last minute to build the much needed infrastructure to handle the events, housing and airports. The economic boom here will be temporary because Brazilians think of the short term and not long term. I agree that proper weapons and vests are needed but higher salaries for police that take bribes and play cards all day? No, they need to be held accountable wrongdoing and only rewarded for doing a good job and being honest. It's a beautiful country with great potential but the wrong types are running the show. A big shame.
You're not talking about the SOLDADOS... The regular PMs... You're talking about Sergeants.
I do agree with you in the term of the Root of the Corruption...
It's know as Jeitinho Brasileiro (The Brazilian Way)...
It's the culture of always working something out with the least amount of grief and under the table if possible.
Of course, this is a gross generalization... No everyone is like that, but as a whole, the society is corruptible and will trade values for easy money in a heart beat.
Regardless, whether they're common police officers (PM) or Sergeants, they make many times more than the salário mínimo (monthly salary) and most are on "the take" and don't do their jobs. For those that do, good for them because they give hope to this country. The jeitinho brasileiro (Brazilian Way), doesn't make it right or acceptable. You're right that not everyone is that way and we can only hope that things change for the better and that Brazilians take positive advantage of what their beautiful country offers and not what they can scrape off the top of the cake.
and here in america we call it the good ole boy network, but corruption and kickbacks are not deeply rooted here, right ??? Of course this is a gross generalization...get the picture.
rkb5555
I see your point, and I am not exempting the US from corruption in any way.
Just look at our "campaign contributions" and "Superpacks".
But there's a rooted difference... It's hard to explain.
Today, if you get pulled over in Brazil and together with your documents, you add a $50 bill, the cop will thank you and send you on your merry way wishing you a good trip. (It's true, every person in Brazil knows it)
And the funny thing, the people see it as an ADVANTAGE... It's advantageous to not have to pay a fine if you screw up in traffic, because you can always come to an agreement with the police officer...
NOW, if that same police officer gives a pass to a drug dealer... HE'S CORRUPT...
It's an INTEGRITY thing...
And that's the Jeitinho Brasileiro (THE BRAZILIAN WAY).
It's sad and I wish it wasn't true. I wish I was just exaggerating.
Let me go be a policeman on the beach at rio, I will pay them.......
Carnival is going to be FUN this year, woot! Can't wait :D
I live in Rio although not in the city. I have lots of family and friends and some are cops and firefighters. Their pay is terrible. They make the equivalent of about $1500 US a month. It wouldn't be so bad, but the prices of everything in Brazil are so high, that everyone has to live off of their credit cards in order to survive. The elite, who own the banks and everything else make tons of money as do speculators, while the average working man has to eat dog food. Meanwhile everyone is driving around in brand new cars being paid for monthly. Brazil is rich.They just struck oil in Marica about 30 miles from Rio to the tune of 850,000 barrels a day which is mostly monopolized by the state oil company, Petrobras. They can't expect people to put their lives on the line and work for peanuts
I understand Police and the Fire Fighters plight. But after this issue has been resolved, For the sake of the people of Reo and Brazil those same groups needs to put in place a no strike clause. I am a retired (US) Fire Fighter myself. Back in I believe it was 1969 or around that time New York Fire Dept. (for what I believe were almost all the same reasons) went on strike and alot of people needed help they never got and people died. After New Yorks contracts were settled the Fire Fighters around the country all agreed that we can never stirke to the point of walking off the job again. *No Matter What*! As a Fire Fighter you took an oath to Protect Property and Save Lives and as a police officer you swore to Protect and Serve. By going on strike you are ignoring your own oath. I truly wish you the best of luck. I believe the people of Brazil owe you fair pay amongst other benefits, but because you have a greavence you are willing to sacrifice the saftey of the people of Reo. This is not right. I hope the goverment of Brazil and the Fire Fighters and Law enforcement can setttle quickly for the peoples sake. I know no matter what I say I do not have all the facts and I don't pretend to understand all thats going on? All I know was my job was to save lives and protect property. Not place people in danger but to keep them out of harms way, No Matter What! I left politics up to my union in which I pay union dues for. Don't get me wrong I would do informational pickets or a work slow down but, Never! Ever! Would I concider a full blown work stoppage that would endanger the people I swore to protect. NO WAY. I realize that the Fire Fighters are not on stike yet (at least I don't see it in the news) but normally Fire and Police work side by side and when one goes we all go. And it will be just a matter of time. Just food for thought. Get your concessions and then back to work, But never again stike, It does nothing but make people hate fire and police officers. And you will have other contract negotiations in the future and you don't want people to remember when you were supppose to protect your citzens and you weren't there.
Well, so far the situation is very peaceful. I hope that this strike doesn´t go too far, because Rio has become safer and I can´t wait to enjoy my carnival in peace and not in fear. However I agree that the policemen deserve a better salary because they do risk their lives.