Employees from some 15 tanneries in the Maringá district of Paraná have gone on strike this week demanding a pay rise.

It is believed that nearly all of the 1,000 workers from the leather facilities have walked off the job after their employers failed to meet their demands during salary negotiations. The workers are now calling for a 6% increase in salary and all workers to be paid the local minimum wage of 473,000 reais (approximately $262) monthly, which they claim is not the case at present.

Most of the tanneries in the region sell their leather abroad and in view of the record exports posted by Brazil’s leather industry this year, workers believe that the companies can afford to pay them more.

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