Unions offer short hours
05/03/2009
The Uruguayan government and leather-sector companies will discuss a proposal by trade unions to reduce working hours as a way to ease the impact of the global economic downturn.
Eduardo Bonomi, the country's labour and social security minister, said that Uruguay's tanning industry had been one of the hardest hit by the global economic situation, but said that the situation was affecting each industry in a particular, making a general proposal difficult to put into practice.
The PIT-CNT union, the country's largest, has suggested a six-hour working day in some sectors to help employers save money, as long as employers, workers and the government were all in agreement.
Uruguay originally had a target of 13% economic growth for 2009 but the latest projections are for growth of around 3%.
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