TWO BRAZILIAN SHIPPING FIRMS SETTLE WITH STRIKERS

  Two small shipping companies have
  reached a pay deal with striking seamen, but union leaders said
  most of Brazil's 40,000 seamen were still on strike.
      A union spokesman in Rio de Janeiro said the seamen had
  accepted a 120 pct pay offer from the companies, Globo and
  Flumar, which have less than 200 employees each.
      The two-week strike comes as Brazil faces a debt crisis and
  is delaying exports badly needed to earn foreign exchange.
      Labour Minister Almir Pazzionotto said the government will
  not force a settlement of the strike, which was ruled illegal
  last Friday.
  

