News

The Cabinet of the Presidency has confirmed the presence of the President of the Republic of Uruguay, José Mujica at the opening of the conference at 17.30, Wednesday 5 December.



More than 400 participants from 33 countries, representing 125 affiliate unions, across the Americas, the Caribbean, and beyond will come together during three days to voice international solidarity and to “beat the drum” for strong unions in multinationals, union growth and a new momentum for collective bargaining - the essentials of sustainable development in the Americas. The labour practices of Walmart, Prosegur, T-Mobile and DHL among others will be under scrutiny.



UNI Americas' Regional Secretary Adriana Rosenzvaig said, “It is a time of renewed confidence both for the Latin American region as a whole and Uruguay specifically. But do not forget this meeting is for all the Americas, north, central and south as well as the Caribbean: no-one should be left out. There is still much work to be done to improve labour rights across the Americas and at our meeting we will address these important issues and set an agenda for change in the spirit of “Breaking Through."



UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings, looking forward to the event, said “We know inequality is still a major issue throughout the Americas yet here in Latin America we are beginning to turn the tide against poverty. Investment in infrastructure, health, education a social safety net, social transfers are working. There is a new commitment to growing the minimum wage and unions are negotiating strongly for their members and taking action to build a more just economic system. UNI’s “Breaking Through” message is about decent work and giving workers a voice in a new era of sustainable economics. We are redoubling our efforts and it starts here in Montevideo this week.”



The meeting takes place from 5 to 7 December in Montevideo's City Hall.

To learn more how the event is unfolding, click here: http://uniamericas.wordpress.com/

Or follow us on twitter using the hashtag #unimontevideo



For Editors:

UNI Americas is UNI Global Union´s regional organisation for communications and services. UNI Americas represent 4 million female and male workers from the Americas and the Caribbean. UNI Global Union is the voice of 20 million service sector workers around the world. Through 900 affiliated unions, UNI represents workers in 150 countries and in every region of the world. UNI represents workers in the Cleaning & Security; Commerce; Finance; Gaming; Graphical & Packaging; Hair & Beauty; ICTS; Media, Entertainment & Arts; Post & Logistics; Social Insurance; Sport; Temp & Agency Workers and Tourism industries.





For more information or to set up an interview contact:

Javier Carles, Javier.carles@uniglobalunion.org, +59891337722 (Spanish)

Sadia Kaenzig, sadia.kaenzig@uniglobalunion, +41793963718 (Spanish, Portuguese, English, Arabic, French)

Richard Elliott, Richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org, +41 79 794 9709 (English, French)