Brazil’s Supreme Court rules police officers cannot strike

SAO PAULO – Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled that police officers do not have the right to go on strike.

The 7-3 ruling handed down Wednesday afternoon said that strikes by military police officers who patrol the nation’s cities, federal police agents, civil police officers who conduct investigations and anyone else involved in public safety like firefighters, are unconstitutional.

The ruling comes less than two months after police in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo refused to patrol the streets to demand higher pay.

That weeklong strike fueled a wave of violence in which nearly 140 people were killed. Federal troops were used to patrol the streets and stem the violence.