UNI Americas Post & Logistics regional meeting was held in Buenos Aires
The event concluded with a strong commitment to further strengthen the sector, with originality and energy to face new challenges.
The meeting was held on the 21st and 22nd of October in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the participation of unions and federations of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, El Salvador, Spain, United States, Paraguay and Portugal.
One of the meeting's objectives was to develop strategies for the Mercosur. In this regard, it was decided that the Coordination of Union Confederations for the Southern Cone (CCSCS in Spanish) would support and accompany the efforts of the postal sector to resume participation in the MERCOSUR. The CCSCS's support will ensure UNI's presence, will follow up on the topics addressed in the discussions of the block, and return to the agenda to promote a postal regulation in the region. The participants supported the Declaration of the Coordination of Union Confederations for the Southern Cone, CCSCS, where the violation of human and union rights of workers in Paraguay is denounced.
Issues of major importance for the sector were discussed at the meeting, such as progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) directly affecting the postal sector, and the TISA that jeopardizes the continuity of public services among other threats. Sofia Scaserra of the Argentinean Federation of Retail Workers, FAECYS, spoke about the TISA. "The Tisa aims at liberalizing the worldwide trade of services, data control, privatization and to eliminate public services. The secrecy of the negotiations was and is the strategy in this type of agreements". The meeting agreed to distribute a document on TISA to see the problems of this agreement and discuss how to put pressure and keep the postal sector out of it.
There was unanimous agreement of the participants to continue making efforts to further promote innovations in the sector and make sure that the post remains public, giving services to the population and ensuring employment.
Adriana Rosenzvaig, Regional Secretary of UNI, emphasized that there are new patterns of consumption, which open opportunities for the postal sector, giving the example of electronic commerce. "UNI Americas is doing research on this, and we know that in many cases post offices will be a point of delivery of internet purchases" she said. UNI P&L and UNI Commerce are planning a joint conference in 2016 to fully analyse the challenges we are facing.
Stephen Di Matteo, Head of UNI Post & Logistics, encouraged participants to continue building a strategy for the sector. "We must agree on a joint strategy to include us in these discussions of the telecommunications and postal sector in the Mercosur; It is a difficult, but it is important that UNI Americas has a strong voice in these discussions, "he said.