The struggles of construction workers in Suape (Pernambuco)

In the last quarter of the 20th century, the process generically known as productive restructuring significantly altered the relationship between capital and labour. The new scenario is marked above all by the flexibilisation of workers' historically acquired rights, which implies the precariousness of working conditions. As a result, unions and trade unionism are being called upon to respond to the new challenges. The aim of this research is therefore to provide a descriptive reconstruction of the construction workers' strike that took place between February and March 2011 at the Suape Industrial and Port Complex. Through this reconstruction, we reflect on how the political articulation and social mobilisation of these workers has taken place. We reconstructed the strike process using the minutes of the hearings held at the Regional Labour Prosecutor's Office (PRT - 6th Region) as well as semi-structured interviews with participants in the process. To reconstruct the strike, we looked at the context and dynamics of trade unionism in Brazil, analysing its moments of crisis and rise.