By Marcela Ayres

BRASILIA. (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank workers began an indefinite walkout for a wage hike on Friday. It threatened stability of the wildly successful Pix instant payment system as well the publication data releases.

Public sector strikes in Brazil have been increasing in frequency in recent months as inflation in Brazil has reached double-digits. This disrupts government operations daily and causes headaches for President Jairbolsonaro, who is seeking re-election in Oct.

While Roberto Campos Neto, the head of central bank, is on vacation in Miami for a scheduled holiday, the strike takes place.

Brazil’s central banks employees approved Monday a strike that would begin on April 1st. They cited unanswered wage increases as the reason.

Fabio Faiad (president of SINAL workers’ union) stated in a statement that he expects 60%-70% workers to support the strike.

On Friday, the central bank stated that it will not publish its Focus Survey of economists next week. It will also not release data on Brazilian savings accounts and foreign exchange flows. However, it did not indicate when publication would resume.

Faiad regretted Friday’s timing of Campos Neto vacation in his Friday statement.

Faiad stated that “sadly, during such a crucial moment, the president at the central bank went to vacation in Miami which does not help us find any solution to the crisis.”

Campos Neto was on vacation from Thursday. He met virtualy with worker representatives Tuesday. Faiad however said that it was “a fiasco”, with no suggestions.

A request for comments was not received by the central bank immediately.

Pix, the central bank’s payment system for Brazilians has proven to be a great success and won many international awards. The system is ​​free of charge for individuals and allows instant payments and transfers.

It was launched in Brazil 15 months ago and has already been used by over 114 million people – 67% percent of Brazil’s adult population. The device is capable of moving approximately 6.7 trillion Brazilian reais (1.36 trillion dollars) and surpassing credit cards and debit cards.