Rafael “Pepe” Abreu warns of possible withdrawal from the union sector if labor reform is insisted upon
The president of the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity (CNUS), Rafael “Pepe” Abreu, has drawn a red line in the Labor Advisory Council negotiations. The union leader was emphatic in pointing out that, if the issue of Labor Code reform is reintroduced during the work sessions, the union representatives will abandon the dialogue table immediately.
Abreu reported that the country’s main confederations have sent a formal communication to the heads of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, requesting that the labor reform bill not be presented again before the National Congress. According to the union leader, after years of fruitless debates and multiple attempts that have ended in expiration, the most prudent course of action is to maintain the validity of the 1992 Labor Code.
The Gordian knot: unemployment
The main point of friction remains the protection of severance pay. For the union sector, any attempt to modify articles 80 and 86 of the Code is unacceptable. Abreu warned that they will also not allow proposals that, under other names, seek to undermine this right, such as the implementation of a probationary contract extended to six months.
“Business owners do not want to leave this reform without an element that contains something touching on severance pay. If they mention that topic, the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity will get up and leave,” declared Abreu.
Alternative proposals for modernization
Despite his rejection of a comprehensive reform, the CNUS leader showed himself open to discussing specific aspects that require updating, such as the regulation of telework and other modern labor modalities. Abreu suggested that these topics can be addressed independently, through specific legislation or through targeted debates within the Consultative Council itself, without the need to touch the fundamental structure of the current code.
Finally, the union leader proposed concluding the debate on the Labor Code to prevent the process from being perceived as a victory or a defeat for any of the parties. “So that no one ends up defeated, let’s leave the code as it is, and we owe nothing to them, nor do they owe anything to us,” Abreu concluded.
For his part, the Minister of Labor, Eddy Olivares, pointed out to the media that, although the issue of labor reform is not currently on the official agenda, he did not rule out that the participating sectors might decide to address it during the course of the dialogue.
