Strikes in sugarcane mills: The forms of resistance of migrant workers in Brazil
Abstract
207 words
This paper analyse forms of resistance of migrant workers from rural areas of Northeastern
regions of Brazil who labour in the harvesting of cane sugar in sugarcane mills in the
state of São Paulo. The focus is the analysis of some “spontaneous” movements taken up
by the cutters of cane sugar named as “stopping” or “strikes”, which occurred in the period
2007-2013. The aim is to understand these movements, such as the action begins if there
are leaders among workers, what strategies are resorted to mobilise workers, which other
social actors are involved: Unions, Ministry of Labour, and Pastoral Care of Migrants. Sources
based on field observations, semi-structured interviews with workers and trade unionists,
newspaper reports and audio-visual documentation. The findings indicate that many strikes
have been happening in the last six years, conducted by seasonal migrant worker. The
strikes start without the union presence, who enter in the background afterward, in the
moment of negotiation between the migrant workers and the mills. We conclude that the
strikes that have taken place in the last six years, many of them conduct by migrant workers,
indicate that the strike action is a form of resistance that has not been abandoned, generating
outcomes in favour of the migrant workers.