He PIT-CNT solved the methodology of financing for the campaign for the meeting of signatures for the plebiscite against social security reform in Uruguay, an issue that generated internal disputes in the union center and on which the position of the largest unions ended up being imposed. The objective is to raise $88,000 for the first tranche until April 2024 and then complete with another contribution to total the $220,000 projected needs.
The refusal of Wide Front to support the plebiscite promoted by PIT-CNT and seeks to reform the Constitution In terms of social security, it not only implied the loss of political capital for the union center, but also the absence of economic capital that usually provided the left coalition. This situation led to the opening of a space for internal dissent on how to make contributions.
In this sense, the largest unions put on the table a different scheme from the traditional one of one dollar per member to, instead, advance on a equitable contribution scheme among all sectors.
Behind this posture they lined up the Single National Union of Construction and Annexes (Sunca), the Uruguayan Health Federation (FUS), the Federation of Commerce and Services Employees (Fuecys), the Association of Bank Employees of Uruguay (AEBU), the Uruguayan Federation of Teachers (FUM) and the Union of Metallurgists (Untmra). Not coincidentally, the largest unions are the PIT-CNT and, therefore, those who should contribute the most per member.
This means a contribution of $2,000 per union when, for example, Sunca should contribute over $60,000 and FUS, around $27,000.
A debate between children and adults
The problem of consensus was already noticed in advance and, as expected, it was present at the meeting of the Representative Table of the PIT-CNT on November 8th. There, the proposal of the large unions was opposed by the smaller unions, who argued to maintain the traditional contribution scheme given the impossibility of many sectors to achieve equitable payment.
The person in charge of negotiating alternatives for those unions with fewer members was the president of the PIT-CNT, Marcelo Abdala, and the text that was sent to all the subsidiaries finally established “a dual criterion” that would allow each union to “define the form of financial contribution that best fits your reality”: whether it is $2,000 per subsidiary or 40 pesos per member. “This option, in one way or another, must be formally communicated to the Finance Secretary for the purposes of establishing the commitment in the individual files of the different subsidiaries”, resolved the PIT-CNT.
This proposal was the one that was finally approved with a split decision of the Representative Board just as had happened with the plebiscite vote itself. The 19 votes out of 38 corresponded to Adeom, AEBU, the Confederation of State Officials (COFE), the Beverage Federation (FOEB), Fuecys, Sunca, Sutel, Unott and the metallurgists, among others.
In the minority, with 12 votes, were smaller unions such as the officials of the University of the Republic (Affur), the ATSS, Sintep and the workers of the Hospital de Clínicas, among others.
For their part, the Press Association (APU), the Ancap Federation (Fancap), Officials of Non-State Public Institutions (Ffipune), the Sea Workers Union (Suntma) and the Cargo Transport Union (Suntma) abstained. Sutcra).
Source: Ambito
