By Ricardo Brito
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Workers at Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama must resume licensing and forest fire prevention activities despite being on strike, Og Fernandes, acting president at Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice, said in a decision on Thursday.
The decision was made as intense fires burn in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands and with the oil industry hampered by the lack of licensing for their operations.
Since January, Ibama employees have been slow-walking issuance of licenses as part of an ongoing dispute with the government over wages and working conditions. Last month they called for a strike.
Last week, oil industry lobby group IBP said the lack of licenses has already had a 200,000 barrels per day impact. Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petrobras has said that lack of licenses has affected their operations in three oil fields.
In his decision, Fernandes ruled that all Ibama employees assigned to forest fire prevention and environmental licensing must return to work, but did not rule on the strike’s legality, which will be analyzed at a later date.
Union group Ascema in a statement said the strike is legal.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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