News

An important new law making the primary employer responsible for “terciary” workers’ labour conditions and rights has been passed by the Broad Front government of Uruguay. The act was explained to a conference of PANARTES, the Americas regional organisation of UNI-MEI, for broadcasting trade unionists meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, 2-3 April, by Eduardo Bonomi, labour minister in the Broad Front government.



In other matters the conference participants considered new technology, means of organising and negotiating for new workers in broadcasting, “convergence,” and other issues. Regarding the later, Engineering Professor Ricardo Beltran declared that though new technologies were real and must be taken into account, most of the theories going around about “convergence” were more politically motivated than science, aimed at perpetuating and extending the power of declining telecommunications companies, especially multinationals, into the new era by dominating and integrating other sectors. It was also noted that the traditional telecoms companies, though changing their names to communications companies, still wanted to maximise income as a means rather than as protectors of content, a very dangerous trend for producers and providers of media and entertainment.



Some thirty five participants from a dozen Latin American broadcasting union took part in the meeting.