SAO PAULO, Brazil – Brazilian offshore oil workers said they would end a five-day strike at midnight Friday without reaching an agreement with the state oil company, but warned they may walk out again if the Petrobras does not make a new offer. Marcos Breda, a spokesman for the Sindipetro-NF union, said workers will return to their jobs as scheduled on Saturday and added that workers will strike again on August 5 if Petroleo Brasileiro SA fails to agree to their demands. The workers went on strike on Monday to demand an extra day off for every two-week shift they work on the platforms, noting it takes a full day off to get to the platform and another to get back. The striking workers rejected the company proposal offering overtime pay instead of the extra day off.
Petrobras said contingency workers helped prevent the strike from affecting production levels.
The walkout involved some 4,500 workers in the Campos basin, the source of 80 percent of Brazil's oil production. Petrobras, one of the world's largest oil companies, pumps an average of 1.6 million barrels of crude a day.
The National Oil Workers Federation is threatening a wider strike to demand a greater share of Petrobras' profits. The unions say that the company's profits have more than doubled since 2002 but that pay has not kept pace.
According to the federation, workers want 25 percent of the dividends paid to shareholders, but Petrobras has only offered 12.8 percent.
With the strike winding down, Petrobras shares in midday trading were up 1 percent to 38.16 reals (US$24) per share.
