The executive secretariat of the PIT-CNT met for the first time after the defeat of the Yes vote in the referendum and, within the evaluation and balance of what happened, there was the role of the police union (Sifpom), which had publicly stated that there were tools in the LUC that were useful to them. They were Sergio Sommaruga (general secretary of the National Union of Private Education Workers), Martín Pereira (president of the Federation of Public Health Officials) and Gonzalo Castelgrande (vice president of the Association of UTE Officials) who led the singing voice.
The analysis was reduced, because no representative of the police union was present, something that is usual, Sommaruga and Pereira told The Observer. The president of the union, Patricia Rodríguez, stated that at that time she had to deal with internal issues of the union. The secretary of Sintep had already advanced The Observer this Tuesday that he would make a statement regarding the role of the police union that gathers more affiliates at the national level.
“They rarely come to the secretariat, they claimed a place and participate little, so if they escape the discussions it is very difficult to exchange“, added Pereira. For this reason, he aspires to be able to discuss it at the instance of the Representative Table, set for next April 7. Asked if he is willing to propose a reprimand, sanction or warning, he replied: “First you have to give the discussion with the companions. We will see the next table if they do not go, what proposals can be made in that sense“. For his part, the Sintep trade unionist said that it is necessary a “serious, healthy and constructive conversation”.
although when The Observer reported that there was annoyance on the part of the PIT-CNT due to Sifpom’s position in the campaign, another fraction of the trade union center put cold cloths – this is the case of the vice president, José Lorenzo López, and other members of the secretariat such as José Fazio, Fernando Gambera and Daniel Diverio–, according to Sommaruga, this Tuesday “there was an attitude” to integrate his “reasoning” into the balance sheet. “If the other party doesn’t go… ‘I’m in the PIT CNT’ is more a poster than a reality. That’s what happens sometimes“, he valued.
The discussion, however, was brief due to the absence of the representatives of the union in question.
Pereira stated that this point was shared, like the rest of the balance sheet, because “they did not respect the decisions of the PIT-CNT, of which they are members, and every time there is a discussion involving their union, they avoid the discussion.” “It is very difficult to build like this and they make it seem that they are not wanted in the union movement. We voted that they have to be within the union movement but they have to be there to give the discussion like any other union“, he pointed out, referring to the motion that the Graphic Arts Union (SAG) presented some time ago to expel them from the plant and that AUTE supported, but that fell by the wayside in the National Congress last year.
“The problem that we all saw is that they played for the No ballot, going out many times together with the minister, going out to pressure Justice with the minister,” he said.
For his part, the secretary of Sintep stressed that “they did not make the economic contribution that had been unanimously accepted for the Yes campaign.” “They did not contribute a weight. They do not abide by the decisions and the main exponents go out to the military in favor of the government and the LUC, I don’t know, are we still together? Do you think so?” He questioned.
In that sense, he maintained that “we must be honest.” “Are they here to take advantage of the PIT-CNT and then not contribute? What do they contribute to the PIT-CNT? I don’t know, the money doesn’t matter to me. What conflict do they support? I never saw them do anything for each other. What is useful to you about the PIT-CNT yes and the other is not? This relationship does not work this way, I want to talk about this, not to punish, to see how we do it because this is not working like this, “she developed.
Rodriguez told The Observer that on Friday they will appear at the meeting of their group within the PIT-CNT, Articulation. Sources from the union affirmed this Monday that inside their own sector, through WhatsApp groups, they were accused of being a key part of the shipwreck of Sí.
Despite this, they hope that at the end of the campaign “the anti-police handle will be lowered” that they detect among their co-religionists. Sommaruga stressed that their questioning stems from the actions they take and not from their status as police officers. In fact, he highlighted the attitudes of the Canelones and Maldonado Police Unions as positive.
