Employees of Caixa Econômica Federal began an open-ended national strike on Thursday, 10 September, after workers at 93 union bases voted to halt activities in rejection of the state-owned bank's proposed collective labour agreement, while Banco do Brasil faced a partial shutdown as 27 unions joined the walkout. The stoppage at Caixa covers the entire country, with branches closed or operating at reduced capacity depending on local participation rates. The Executive Employees' Commission said more than 90% of workers who took part in assemblies held across Brazil rejected the terms Caixa presented for its institution-specific agreement. Both banks directed customers to digital and remote channels, including mobile applications, internet banking, banking correspondents and telephone service.
The dispute centres on the cost-sharing structure of the employee health plans at Brazil's two largest federal banks, an issue that was not resolved by the sector-wide settlement signed one day earlier. The National Bank Workers' Command and Fenaban, the national banking federation, signed a collective bargaining convention on Wednesday, 9 September, covering 2026 to 2028 and running until 31 August 2028. That agreement applies to roughly 500,000 bank employees and provides for full restoration of INPC consumer price inflation accumulated from September 2025 to August 2026, plus a real increase of 0.6% in 2026, with the same real-gain formula applied in 2027. The signature of the umbrella convention did not close the separate negotiations at Caixa, where employees rejected the renewal proposal outright.
HEALTH PLAN COSTS AT THE CENTRE OF THE IMPASSE
At Caixa, employees currently contribute 3.5% of their base convention salary to the Saúde Caixa health plan, plus 480 reais a month for each dependent, rising to 800 reais for dependents aged between 24 and 27. The bank's proposal would have raised the salary contribution to 5.5%, increased the standard dependent charge to 870 reais and lifted the charge for older dependents to 1,050 reais a month. Union representatives identified this repricing as the principal obstacle in the talks, which have been running since June.
Negotiations resumed in São Paulo on Wednesday evening after the assembly results were tallied, but Caixa did not table a revised offer at that session. The bank committed to a further round on Thursday morning, and union guidance is that the strike continue until any new proposal is submitted back to the assemblies. In a statement, Caixa said it keeps dialogue open with employee representative bodies and remains committed to renewing the collective agreement, with the stated objective of reaching an understanding that accommodates the interests of all parties, employee valuation, institutional sustainability and continuity of service to the public.
BANCO DO BRASIL SPLIT ALONG UNION LINES
At Banco do Brasil the response fragmented. Thirty-nine unions approved the bank's proposal, which included a contribution of 360 million reais to sustain the health plan through November of this year; those bases included São Paulo, Curitiba, Campo Grande, Niterói and Jundiaí. A majority of 60 unions rejected the offer and opted to reopen negotiations, among them Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Pernambuco and Florianópolis. Of those, 27 unions voted to strike from Thursday, including Belo Horizonte, Bahia, Ceará and Piauí. Banco do Brasil said it participates in the unified Fenaban negotiating table alongside all banks and maintains a separate table for its own staff demands, and that several rounds of talks preceded the proposal approved in assemblies across the country.
The immediate variable is whether the revised Caixa proposal expected on Thursday proves sufficient to trigger fresh assemblies and an end to the stoppage, given that the strike is open-ended by design and tied to assembly approval rather than a fixed calendar. The INPC reading that determines the headline pay adjustment for the wider category was due for release on Friday, 11 September. Because participation varies branch by branch, service disruption is uneven, and both institutions have concentrated customer traffic in digital channels for the duration. Beyond the current round, union leadership has signalled intent to move on to mental-health provisions under Brazil's NR-1 workplace regulation.