Brazilian FITERT Congress Elect Nacimento Coordinator
The main broadcasting workers federation on Brazil, FIRTERT, meeting in Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul state), 20-23 November, elected long time UNI-MEI activist Nacimento da Silva, of Minas Gerais state, its coordinador for the next three year period. Nacimento is a vice president of PANARTES and an alternate member of the UNI-MEI world executive.
Jose Antonio de Jesus da Silva (Sao Paulo) was named to continue as responsible for finances and Euripedes Correira Conceicao was named new international secretary.
Several important advances for FITERT were reported at the congress. The federation’s long fight for its share of the government union “tax”, automatically deducted, has finally been won, making the organisation’s finances much more assured. FITERT has recently opening its official secretariat in the national capital, Brasilia, with a full time representative there; also it has been able to purchase an automobile for union use. FITERT now covers 19 out of 25 states.
Various specialists were brought in to discuss effects of new technology on broadcasting workers, especially the soon to be switch over to digital transmission. Marta Pentell, of the broadcasting section of the Swedish union Unionen, took part in opening the discussion on women’s issues.
More controversial was a discussion about broadcasting workers’ relations with one of the national centres, the CUT. FITERT is officially an affiliate of the CUT but according to the Brazilian system state organisations within the federation have the right to affiliate or not with a national centre as well. Historically, most FITERT unions supported the CUT but four do not, the most recent being the largest union of all, the Sao Paulo one which has now withdrawn. The criticism has been that CUT represents mainly the interests of the largest industrial sectors while groups with specific professional interests, like broadcasting workers, are largely ignored or expected to be silent supporters of an agenda which is only partially relevant to them. The close links between the CUT and the PT government were also criticised as dampening to some extent the independence of CUT positions.