The following information was provided by the president of the Sindicato Unico Nacional de Construcción y Anexos (SUNCA) in a 19 July 2001 telephone interview with the Research Directorate.

There are 31 members on the National Board of Directors (Consejo Directivo Nacional) of SUNCA of which seven form the secretariat (Secretariado). The seven members of the SUNCA secretariat were elected in March 1998 and assumed their positions in April 1998. They were: Pedro Porley, president; Jorge Mesa, secretary general; Fabian Gaddea, vice-president; Julio Rodas, secretary of propaganda; Faustino Rodriguez, secretary of organization; Dario Alvarez de Ron, secretary of finance; and Miguel Guzman, secretary of education.

The last period that SUNCA was on strike was from 31 March 1993 to 22 August 1993. The last strike vote took place prior to the commencement of the strike on 31 March 1993; the SUNCA president could not recall the exact date of the vote. SUNCA also participates in partial work stoppages (paros parciales) as a means to protest against disagreement during negotiations related to the SUNCA collective agreement. These work stoppages have been voted on at various times by the National Board of Directors and the General Assembly. In 1995, the General Assembly of SUNCA voted to hold one day-long work stoppage the day following an accident causing death of a construction worker. SUNCA's last work stoppage took place in December 2000.

No reports on dissension within the ranks of SUNCA could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Sindicato Unico Nacional de Construcción y Anexos (SUNCA), Montevideo. 19 July 2001. Telephone interview with the president.

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

Latin American Regional Reports: Southern Cone Report [London]. 1993-1998

LEXIS/NEXIS

World News Connection

Internet sites including:

Brecha [Montevideo]

International Labour Organization (ILO)

El Observador [Montevideo]

Radio El Espectador. Search Engine. 1998-2001

Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ)

Subrayado [Montevideo]

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