Laura Rivero has not gone unnoticed in the domestic workers union. In 2017 his presence began to cause an uproar in the inmate. Rivero, worker from Cerro Largo, won the elections and broke with the Montevidean leadership hegemony of the union.
From that moment on, there were several altercations and inconveniences that ended in his expulsion and removal from office. But the stoy did not end there. Insistent, he requested the intervention of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) that after several instances ended up agreeing with him. With that victory on his back, years later he ran again in the union elections and won them again.
The internal disputes began at the same time that Rivero’s list was victorious in April 2017 by two votes. Immediately the losing list wanted to challenge the result.
A couple of months later Rivero assumed the presidency. The following year he called for an audit of the union’s numbers. Given this, he received a telegram requesting his resignation from office for “serious violations of the statute and inappropriate conduct”. Rivero was suspended for six months and requested the intervention of the MEC.
In March 2019, an assembly of the domestic workers union was held at the headquarters of the PIT-CNT. After shouting and arguing, Rivero was expelled from the union.
Domestic workers representatives
In November 2019, the ministry concluded that Rivero should be reinstated in the union. From there, she began to prepare for her return.
She participated in an assembly of union members and there she requested that elections be held. They took place on November 27.
The only list that was presented was the one led by Rivero. He got 75% of the votes and won. with that result returned to the presidency of the union –five years after its first triumph- accompanied by Mariela Burlon as general secretary.
The new directive is made up of workers from Rocha, Fray Bentos, Rivera, Bella Unión, Tacuarembó, Treinta y Tres, Melo and Montevideo.
On Saturday the 10th of this month they assumed their positions. He went to the union house in Montevideo. That day they presented Ferdinand Ferreira, member of the Executive Secretariat of the PIT-CNT and a lawyer. In the place there were members of the previous management.
“They were waiting for us like entrenched. We told him that we wanted to change the lock and to go away to do it. If they didn’t, we said we were going to go to the police because they were usurping the premises. After a while they understood,” Rivero told The Observer.
“The house was in appalling condition. We found food that was donated to the union by institutions and was piled up about to expire. Some were already defeated, ”he recounted.
“That can’t happen. There are so many soup kitchens, picnic areas or domestic workers with problems, ”she indicated.
Years ago there were 300 domestics affiliated with the union. In the last elections, 105 voted. Membership dropped considerably. The union maintains its 10 affiliates that are in Montevideo, Canelones, Maldonado, Florida, Fray Bentos, Dolores, Bella Unión, Rivera, Tacuarembó and Melo.
On January 14, a national assembly of affiliates is scheduled to take place in Tacuarembó.
Rivero will be president for two years. “It is a short time to work, but we are going to do everything possible to get ahead,” she said.
“The main thing is that the board is a group made up of workers from all political parties. The objective is to work for the workers, for their rights, avoiding party politics within the union“, he claimed.
“This is how things should be done. We do not mix politics with union. That is the goal we set for ourselves,” she added.
