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On Monday the 26th of August, in the UPAEP Headquarters in Montevideo, a ceremony took place during which the Framework Agreement for postal and logistics services between UNI Global Union and the Postal and Logistics Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal was endorsed. The event crowned three years of fruitful meetings and negotiations, which resulted in a written document which promotes cooperation between institutions and unions for the development of postal services, strengthening it, its sustainability and its commitment to the community and the rights of its workers.



The General Secretary of UPAEP, Serrana Bassini, and the Regional Secretary of UNI Americas, Adriana Rosenzvaig, were responsible for signing the document that establishes the framework agreement, and were accompanied UPAEP Counsellor Edwin Olazabal, and the Regional Director of UNI Americas P&L, Javier Carlés. On behalf of the members of UNI Americas P&L, were colleagues Ramón Baldassini and Omar Sans from FOECYT, Ricardo Ferraro and Segundo Vera from FOECOP and Ramón Ermárcora from AATRAC, together with UPAEP board members.



The General Secretary of UPAEP, Serrana Bassini, was adamant that "this agreement is, above all things, an agreement in favour of the sustainable development of postal services and in favour of better working conditions for the workers whose efforts make this service a reality". Minutes later she stated very explicitly, "we are sure that we will soon be carrying out joint actions between UPAEP and UNI to make sure that what we are signing now materializes and a common action plan will be the first step in this sense ".



For her part, the Regional Secretary of UNI Americas, Adriana Rosenzvaig, stated that "the workers and their unions have a lot to contribute to the improvement of postal services, and what better place to channel that contribution than through UPAEP, where the postal services of the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula are established both institutionally and politically". She then went over the experience of UNI Global Union in the signing of regional and global framework agreements with multinational corporations and multilateral institutions and the challenges of this agreement.



The next step will be the development of a joint action plan to promote social dialogue at all levels, sustainable development, the innovation and diversification of the postal services, health and safety at the workplace, increasing the working skills of the postal workers, the social responsibility of the postal business and decent work at a national and regional level, the expansion of the electronic fund transfer system for migrant workers and contributing to the democratization of the financial services, facilitating access to them for the population.



The next Regional Conference of UNI Americas P&L in November 2013 will have as one of its key points, the discussion of the joint action plan to be developed with UPAEP in the next period.



UNI welcomes the signing of this framework agreement with UPAEP and thanks all those who gave their effort over the years to make it happen. Together we can make a better world.