[audio_pro src=»https://files.catbox.moe/kjmwhz.mp3″ titulo=»Complete interview with Valeria Ripoll»]
The discussion about union privileges in the Salto City Council took a decisive turn following statements by Valeria Ripoll , former president of ADEOM Montevideo and a national union figure. In an interview with Uruguay Al Día , Ripoll supported the Salto City Council's recent decision to set a 400-hour annual limit on union leave, and also denounced the fact that some local leaders were using the privileges for political purposes, distorting their true meaning.
According to Ripoll, the resolution does not imply eliminating rights but rather correcting a situation of disarray that has been ongoing for years. "There was no agreement between the parties; it was not known how many leaders had been released, nor how to request their privileges. It was a complete mess," he stated. The intention, he said, is to organize, provide guarantees, and clarify the use of municipal human resources.
The measure sparked discontent among the local union Adeoms Salto, which considered the imposed cap insufficient. However, Ripoll was clear: "This doesn't eliminate the union's work; it simply establishes rules. And those rules must be finalized in a proper collective bargaining environment."
Union licenses: How much, how, and for whom?
The former ADEOM leader explained that in Uruguay there is no uniform national regulation for the use of union licenses in municipalities. Each departmental government reaches an agreement with its union. In many cases, practices are based on customs and practices without written instruments. In others, there are agreements that are decades old and have not been updated.
The National Federation of Municipal Workers attempted to negotiate a common regulation with the Congress of Mayors. It was unsuccessful. "Today we have 19 different realities," Ripoll remarked.
Regarding the number of released leaders and the number of hours, Ripoll proposes objective criteria: workforce, level of union activity, and national or local responsibilities . A local representative is not the same as a national representative with responsibilities nationwide.
Eternal jurisdiction or jurisdiction with time limits?
The discussion also includes whether union leave should have time limits . Ripoll was blunt: "There are leaders who haven't returned to work for 15 or 30 years. That can't happen. You lose touch with your colleagues' reality."
He proposes discussing caps, audits, and job rotation to ensure that union leaders maintain ties with their sectors. "It can't be that the motivation for joining a leadership team is to not go to work," he said.
Complaint of political use of the union
One of the interview's most poignant moments was when Ripoll addressed statements made by the president of Adeoms Salto during a PIT-CNT event. There, the leader stated that the governing coalition had to be challenged . According to Ripoll, this exposed partisan political misuse of the union . "Using union privileges to campaign is wrong. If you want to engage in partisan politics, resign from the union," he emphasized.
He also recalled situations experienced during past union elections, where, he reported, city hall directors called workers to tell them who to vote for , something he described as unprecedented and serious.
What does the law say?
Regarding the legal framework, Ripoll clarified that there is no national law specifically regulating union privileges in mayoralties. These are agreements between parties . What the regulations do require is that rights not be violated, but that doesn't prevent the establishment of reasonable limits or oversight mechanisms. "Leaders can continue doing their job. What they can't do is use the union as a political crux," he indicated.
Roadmap and proposal for the conflict
For Ripoll, the solution to the conflict in Salto is clear: transparent collective bargaining . If there is a lack of trust between the parties, he recommends bringing in the Ministry of Labor to act as guarantor of the process.
He points out that the previous administration had no control over the privileges and that this new administration seeks to bring order. He asked workers to analyze who represents them and whether they are truly defending their working conditions, or if other interests are at stake.
"At no point did the mayor's office propose eliminating the union. This is using the workers for political conflict," he said. He added that even when the previous administration left the mayor's office in debt, the union didn't strike.
