Employees of the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp) guarantee that emergency teams will be on hand this Tuesday (3), during the category’s 24-hour strike against the company’s privatization plans, to prevent shortages in places such as hospitals, schools or daycare centers.
In the event of weather events or accidents that cause interruption of water supply or water collection in regions where these sensitive locations are located, repairs will be made to prevent serious harm to patients or children.
According to the Union of Water, Sewage and Environmental Workers of the State of São Paulo (Sintaema), which represents the company’s workforce, membership in the movement should be close to 75%. Despite this, the treatment plants will continue to operate – that is, there is no expectation of interruption of the water supply. The biggest impacts will be felt in sectors such as collection and maintenance.
In response to the Sabesp workers’ movement, the government headed by Bolsonarista Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) took legal action, which determined that 85% of employees work on Tuesday. However, according to the Union, in the current situation, on a normal working day this percentage is no longer reached, due to the large number of absences due to burnout due to the scrapping of the company and, in any case, the mobilization will take place.
Sabesp’s strike is part of a unified movement, which also includes workers from Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) and Metrô. The strike is a response to Tarcísio’s privatization rage, which intends to hand over the three companies to the private sector.
The unified action is another step in the joint struggle of groups of public transport and sanitation workers. Allied with other entities, they organize a popular plebiscite, which aims to hear from 1 million citizens about the privatization proposals. The plebiscite ballot boxes will pass through different parts of the state of São Paulo until November 5th.
“What we have today in the State of São Paulo is a project, which is being implemented by Governor Tarcísio, which attacks all public services, especially essential services, such as water, sanitation and public transport. So, based on this understanding , as CPTM and São Paulo Metro are at the center of the attack, we built a unit”, highlighted the president of Sintaema, José Antonio Faggian.
On the day of the strike, Sabesp employees will hold an event at the company’s headquarters in the Ponte Pequena neighborhood, central region of the capital of São Paulo. The accession of the sanitation company workers to the strike movement was celebrated by the other categories that had already confirmed their participation.
“Sabesp, in fact, is the ‘apple of the governor’s eye’, given that he wants to transfer Sabesp from a joint venture to a private sector, which would be a tragedy for the people of São Paulo. We already have an example of what happened with Cedae, from Rio de Janeiro, which started to have very expensive bills and a very poor quality service, and we don’t want that to happen in São Paulo. So let’s be together, Metrô, CPTM and Sabesp, in strike on the 3rd”, highlighted Bernardo Lima, director of the São Paulo Subway Workers’ Union.
Editing: Geisa Marques
