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6 August 2009 | Interviews | Human rights
Not even the Least
Uruguay: Rural worker fired for demanding implementation of the eight-hour working day law
1:30 minutes
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In December last year, a law to limit the working day for rural workers in eight hours a day, and 48 hours a week was passed in Uruguay. However, the implementation of this ruling is not an easy task.
On July 7th, at 9:30 am, rural worker Ebelio González found out that he and his wife had been fired for trying to create a union, and that they had 30 days to leave their house. This was notified by the owner of the farm, Francisco Crosa, who had hired them in September, 2008. Crosa told them the news joined by police officers from the department of Florida, to the centre of the country.
On that day, officers from the National Work Inspection Authority arrived to the farm, and accused the company of several irregularities, among them the absence of social security documentation, unsafe machinery and housing problems.
This week, UNATRA (National Union of Rural Workers) filed an appeal to court, and the issue was also analysed by the central union PIT-CNT.
González denounced in a hearing that Crosa had fired him after finding out that a group of workers met to discuss working conditions and the implementation of the eight-hour law for rural workers.
