DistantNews
Support us
Uruguay construction union awaits employer response on collective bargaining
🇺🇾 Uruguay /Energy & Infrastructure

Uruguay construction union awaits employer response on collective bargaining

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Uruguayan construction union Sunca is awaiting a response from employers regarding demands for a new collective bargaining agreement.
  • Sunca seeks higher wages than the government's proposal, a reduction in working hours to 40 per week without pay loss, and improved employment policies.
  • The union accuses some companies of using layoffs as union repression during negotiations, reporting the issue to authorities.

The Uruguayan construction industry faces potential disruption as the national union, Sunca, awaits a crucial response from employers on a new collective bargaining agreement. Negotiations have stalled for about 120 days, leading to union-led measures.

Sunca's president, Richard Ferreira, outlined the union's platform, which centers on three key demands. Workers aim for wage increases exceeding the government's semi-annual scale, seeking a unified salary structure and annual adjustments that reflect real wage growth. They also push for a reduction in the workweek from 44 to 40 hours without a pay cut.

In this sense, we have been very clear that we intend to go for a formula that reflects real wage growth.

— Richard FerreiraPresident of Sunca, explaining the union's wage expectations.

The third pillar of Sunca's demands focuses on enhancing employment policies and industry democratization. This includes better support for early childhood care and strengthening union freedoms for safety delegates, citing high accident rates in the sector. Ferreira believes the union's platform is fair and feasible, arguing the construction industry is not in crisis but is thriving.

the Sunca has made the maximum efforts by positioning a platform that we consider fair and that is likely to be applied in construction, since we are not in a crisis industry, but a booming one.

— Richard FerreiraSunca President on the feasibility of the union's demands.

However, employer representatives express a different view. The president of the Construction Chamber (CCU), Alejandro Ruibal, described the sector as being in a "dip." Alfredo Kaplan, president of the Association of Private Construction Developers of Uruguay (Appcu), noted increased caution in initiating new projects. Despite these concerns, Ferreira asserted that current direct employment levels in construction significantly exceed the historical average, impacting over 250,000 people indirectly and directly.

Ferreira also leveled accusations against some companies, calling their recent layoffs a form of "union repression" amid the negotiations. He stated that Sunca has reported these actions to the Social Security Bank and the Ministry of Labor, alleging that employers are acting contrary to the law.

This we have denounced before the Social Security Bank and the Ministry of Labor because the business sector is acting against what the law says.

— Richard FerreiraSunca President accusing companies of union repression through layoffs.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog