Brazil’s Superior Labor Court has issued an order requiring Petrobras to maintain at least 80% of its workforce on duty across all exploration, production and distribution sites in Brazil. The ruling, delivered on December 27, compels the state-run oil company to keep roughly 40,000 of its 50,000 employees active while labor talks continue. Company management has been instructed to implement contingency plans immediately to prevent disruptions in crude production, refining and fuel shipments. The decision follows a petition by the federal government expressing concern over potential supply bottlenecks and price volatility ahead of peak domestic demand in January.

Sindipetro-NF, one of Brazil’s largest oil workers’ unions representing over 10,000 Petrobras employees in the northern region, announced on December 28 that it has turned down the company’s latest proposal to end its 12-day strike. The union criticized Petrobras’s offer for failing to address wage restoration after three consecutive years of below-inflation salary adjustments and for omitting a plan to guarantee job security under pending offshore concessions. Sindipetro-NF is now demanding a 12% base pay increase and a formal commitment to local hiring quotas on upcoming exploration blocks, raising the prospect of further escalation if talks do not resume in the coming days.