Natal, Brazil teachers strike over pay and career reforms

On Thursday, 6 August 2026, teachers and early‑childhood educators from the municipal school system in Natal began an indefinite strike. The protest started at 8 a.m. in front of the Palácio Felipe Camarão, the city hall in the Cidade Alta neighbourhood, after the Sindicato dos Trabalhadores em Educação Pública do Rio Grande do Norte (Sinte‑RN) called for action.

The union demands a 4.6 % salary increase for 2026 to begin recomposing the roughly 60 % of accumulated wage losses, unification of the three existing municipal teaching career tracks, salary parity among staff, guaranteed planning rights, and improvements to school infrastructure and operation. While a 5.4 % raise was granted in March 2026 in line with the federal teaching floor, the union says retroactive payments and other adjustments have not fully addressed the accumulated deficits.

The strike has halted classes for thousands of students across Natal’s municipal schools, pressuring the municipal administration to resume negotiations with the teachers’ representatives.