Pension reform in Uruguay: unions call for general strike

The Uruguayan trade union confederation PIT-CNT has decided to call a 24-hour general strike with mobilization on Tuesday to reject the government’s bill to reform the social security system, raising the retirement age for workers from 60 to 65.

This was confirmed to the press on Monday by the president of the PIT-CNT, Marcelo Abdala.

He assured that “all sectors” will stop their activities as part of a strike that will be “broad” and “powerful,” as transport, education, and health unions, among others, will strike.

“This is a protest demonstration and, at the same time, an important action with all social organizations,” said the Uruguayan union leader, who noted that workers will gather around 4 pm local time (7 pm GMT), where a speech will be given.

Commenting on the bill, which the executive branch of center-right party President Luis Lacalle Pou introduced to parliament last October and which could receive final approval from the Senate on Tuesday if it is approved halfway through the Chamber on Monday, Abdala said it is a “hidden tax adjustment” and a “dismantling of rights.”

“It is a reform born from criticism of an alleged deficit in the Social Security Agency and other institutions, but instead of improving funding, it ends up dismantling rights,” he stressed.

Lacalle Pou described the reform, carried out with the support of a commission of experts on social security, as “necessary” and “solidary” and called its adoption one of the main priorities of his term.

It is one of the most important issues President Luis Lacalle Pou mentioned on more than one occasion that he would like to see adopted by his government.

“It is an act of national responsibility that we will not leave to the next government,” the president declared on the day the executive branch sent the bill to the Uruguayan Parliament.

The bill, which is not supported by the opposition Broad Front coalition that governed Uruguay between 2005 and 2020 nor by the country’s main labor unions and social groups, recently drew criticism from members of the ruling party.

In particular, two of the five parties that make up the ruling “colorful” coalition, the Colorado Party and the Cabildo Abierto, demanded various changes to the original bill to support it in the legislature, which Lacalle Pou accepted after negotiation talks.