While for the workers of Section “A” (private initiative) the labour reform it has allowed a greater participation of independent unions, in the case of Section “B” (public sector) democratization and the establishment of the secret and direct free vote are still far away; at least that is how the workers of Banobras live it, who notice the disappearance of their Union (SuntBanobras) if the statutes are not modified in accordance with the 2019 changes in the Federal Labor Law.
East development bank It hardly reaches a hundred unionized workers, since it has lost 66% of its members since 2014, year after year the unionization of those who enter the institution is decreasing, or new possibilities are simply not opened; This is how Iván Foronda and María del Rocío Pérez Barrios express it in an interview, who seek to participate in a new Form that can contend against the current leader Miguel Osorio.
If a list is made of the intentions of the labor reform to democratize union organizations, at SuntBanobras it is a good example of what is not done, such as not keeping eternal leaders at the helm, allowing the participation of women , and even incorporate the free, secret and direct vote in the statutes, explain the members of the Purple Form that seeks to join to gain strength in the contest that will take place in the month of September of this year.
“Since the labor reform came into force, it only applies to the workers of Apartment “A”, we are from Section “B”, and in our union the universal and secret vote, which is very important, does not apply. And all those references that the reform has so that the unions are transparent, the destination of the union dues is known and there is an election of the workers to appoint the general secretary continues to be by statute, that is, through delegates, So we are in a disadvantageous situation, we have the same statutes as four years ago,” said Foronda, who will seek to make new proposals to rescue the union.
Under this worrying situation, they predict that if this inertia continues, “the union will disappear in one or two more administrations, each lasting four years. Above all because the number of unionized people knows that it is going down”.
At the moment there are 137 unionized workers out of a total of 1,000 workers, that is, just 11%. “The Banobras administration has not wanted to unionize 300 that are pending, and during these four years there have been colleagues who are in the process of affiliating, that is, the administration, but several have been fired,” said Pérez Barrios.
Despite the fact that there is an adverse panorama, for the second time, they will integrate the Purple Sheet and among its immediate objectives will be: increase the number of affiliates; make workers aware of the importance of defending labor rights; highlight the importance of a union and having strong legal and political representation to maintain decent employment.