The 7th UNI Americas Commerce Conference took place from September 9 to 10, gathering commerce unions from across the region to address key challenges facing the sector. The main topics included occupational health and safety, digitalisation and e-commerce, precarious work, and the need for a just transition.
Union representatives highlighted recent achievements in organizing campaigns that have strengthened union structures, as well as progress in regulating platforms and e-commerce. Legislative successes such as labor reform in Colombia and expanded rights in Brazil and Chile were noted. Unions also discussed implementing global and regional framework agreements with multinational companies.
Marcio Monzane, UNI Americas Regional Secretary, said: “There is only one way forward: a comprehensive response through collective bargaining, united, combating precarious work, defending labour rights, acting as political actors, standing up for democracy and promoting international solidarity.”
A significant focus of the conference was mental health at work. In Brazil, eight out of ten workers report illness due to work-related causes; 68 percent of sick leave is associated with anxiety and depression. Commerce is now the second sector with the highest incidence of mental illness in Brazil. Burnout rates have increased since the pandemic—particularly among women.
Mathias Bolton, Head of UNI Commerce, stated: “The mental and physical wellbeing of commerce workers cannot be treated as secondary. It is a trade union, political and social issue that we must put at the centre of the international agenda. Collective action is the only way to ensure that health comes before profit.”
Contributing factors include long shifts such as the 6×1 system—which disrupts family life—low wages, high targets, harassment (moral, sexual or racial), gender discrimination leading to double or triple workloads for women alongside domestic violence. Only seven percent of collective agreements currently include clauses against moral harassment.
International experiences were also discussed—for example in the United States where gun violence in retail led unions to win new legislation requiring panic buttons and training on harassment prevention within months.
Henry Olivera, UNI Americas Commerce Regional Director said: “Compiling four years of work has not been easy but commerce unionism has shown its ability to grow… We have driven campaigns… reforms… agreements that leave a mark for the future. Behind every achievement is regional solidarity and the conviction that our struggle is for the dignity of commerce workers.”
José Luis Oberto was re-elected President of UNI Americas Commerce during this conference. He concluded by emphasizing: “We live in a world where digitalisation and algorithms shape work but social dialogue cannot be replaced by a computer. We need strong organised unions so that commerce workers can live and work with dignity. That is our mission—and we will continue building unity across the region.”
