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Uruguay- Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Montevideo

 

CLIMATE

Uruguay enjoys a warm temperate climate. Freezing temperatures are almost unknown.

 

LANGUAGES

Spanish, and Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Uruguay’s legal system is based on Spanish civil law system. Uruguay accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

CURRENCY

Uruguayan Peso (1 USD = 12.76500 UYU as of June 1, 2002).

 

URUGUAY - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

URUGUAY - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Montevideo

Lauro Muller 1776

Montevideo 11200

Uruguay

APO AA 34035

Montevideo, Uruguay

Telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777

Fax: [598] (2) 418-8611

http://www.embeeuu.gub.uy/

 

Embassy of Uruguay at Washington D.C.

2715 M Street N.W., 3rd Floor

Washington D.C. 20007

Telephone: (202) 331-1313

Fax: (202) 331-8142

http://www.embassy.org/uruguay/

 

URUGUAY - HOLIDAYS

 

URUGUAY – LEAVE

Annual Leave: Workers are entitled to 20 days of paid vacation after a year of employment.

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 100% of pay (paid by social security).

 

URUGUAY - MINIMUM AGE

By law minors under the age of 14 may not be granted permission to work, and this is generally enforced in practice. Minors between the ages of 14 and 15 are granted permission to work only in extremely rare circumstances and even then usually only to work with other members of their families. Minors between the ages of 15 and 18 require government permission to work, and such permission is not granted for dangerous, fatiguing, or night work.

 

Permission to work is only granted to minors who have completed 9 years of compulsory education or who remain enrolled in school and are working toward completing the period of compulsory education. Controls over salaries and hours for children are more strict than those for adults. Children over the age of 16 may sue in court for payment of wages, and children have the legal right to dispose of their own income.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Uruguay – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

URUGUAY - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The minimum wage, set in January 2001, is 1,092 pesos per month (about $80), functions more as an index for calculating wage rates than as a true measure of minimum subsistence levels.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Uruguay – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

URUGUAY - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

URUGUAY - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution states that laws should promote the organization of trade unions and the creation of arbitration bodies; however, there is almost no legislation concerning union activities. Unions traditionally organize and operate free of government regulation. Civil servants, employees of state-run enterprises, and private enterprise workers may join unions. Unionization is high in the public sector (over 80 percent) and low in the private sector (under 5 percent). Labor unions are independent of political party control but traditionally have associated more closely with the Broad Front, the leftist political coalition.

 

The Constitution provides workers with the right to strike. The Government may legally compel workers to work during a strike if they perform an essential service which, if interrupted, "could cause a grave prejudice or risk, provoking suffering to part or all of the society." On July 25, the umbrella labor confederation--the Workers' Inter-Union Plenary/National Workers' Confederation (PIT/CNT)--organized a 1-day general strike. There were other smaller strikes during the year but fewer of these than in 2000.

 

There are mechanisms for resolving workers' complaints against employers, but unions complained that these mechanisms sometimes were applied arbitrarily. The law generally prohibits discriminatory acts by employers, including arbitrary dismissals for union activity. Unions maintain that organizers are dismissed for fabricated reasons, thus allowing employers to avoid penalty under the law.

 

There are no restrictions on the right of unions to form confederations or to affiliate with international trade union groups; however, the one national confederation has chosen not to affiliate officially with any of the world federations. Some individual unions are affiliated with international trade secretariats.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Collective bargaining between companies and their unions determines a number of private sector salaries. The executive branch, acting independently, determines public sector salaries. There are no laws prohibiting antiunion discrimination, but a 1993 executive decree established fines for employers engaging in antiunion activities. The law does not require employers to reinstate workers fired for union activities. However, in cases of legal challenges by union activists, courts tend to impose indemnization levels that are higher than those normally paid to dismissed workers.

 

At the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Governing Body meeting in March, the Association of Workers and Employees brought allegations against the Government concerning antiunion measures, such as collective bargaining and disciplinary measures against trade union officials and workers. At the ILO's governing meeting in June, the Association of Bank Employees of Uruguay brought allegations against the government concerning antiunion dismissals, threats of dismissal, and irregular denouncement of a collective agreement. Both complaints remained pending at year's end.

 

The Ministry of Labor has a labor commission that investigates antiunion discrimination claims filed by union members. In 2000 there were 5 antiunion discrimination claims, compared with 16 claims in 1999; all 5 cases were resolved and workers were rehired with full rights. Most complaints are resolved within a few months. Labor unions have complained that some businesses have encouraged formation of worker cooperatives, which serve to reduce their labor costs. Although such cooperatives do not necessarily affect workers' social insurance and other public benefits, this outsourcing can reduce workers' job security, result in a loss of seniority, and weaken the power of trade unions and of collective bargaining.

 

All labor legislation fully covers workers employed in the eight special export zones. There are no unions in these zones, but the few workers employed there are not in traditionally organizable occupations.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and it is not known to occur. The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children, and the Government generally enforces this prohibition effectively; however, there was one report that children were trafficked into forced labor (see Section 6.f.).

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The Child Labor Code protects children; the Ministry of Labor and Social Security is responsible for enforcing the law. Some children work as street vendors in the expanding informal sector or in the agrarian sector, which generally are regulated less strictly and where pay is lower. By law minors under the age of 14 may not be granted permission to work, and this is generally enforced in practice. Minors between the ages of 14 and 15 are granted permission to work only in extremely rare circumstances and even then usually only to work with other members of their families. Minors between the ages of 15 and 18 require government permission to work, and such permission is not granted for dangerous, fatiguing, or night work.

 

Permission to work is only granted to minors who have completed 9 years of compulsory education or who remain enrolled in school and are working toward completing the period of compulsory education. Controls over salaries and hours for children are more strict than those for adults. Children over the age of 16 may sue in court for payment of wages, and children have the legal right to dispose of their own income. A program by INAME and an NGO to pay families $83 (1,000 pesos) per month to parents who take their children off the streets and send them to school continued during the year. This amount approximates what a child might earn working on the street. In 1999 the Government created a National Committee for the Eradication of Child Labor, which continues to work on creating a national action plan to combat child labor.

 

In August the Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor. Most elements of the Convention already were codified in labor law, which INAME and other government agencies enforce.

 

The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children, and the Government generally enforces this prohibition effectively (see Section 6.c.). However, in May the authorities discovered a small child-labor ring (see Section 6.f).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Ministry of Labor effectively enforces a legislated minimum monthly wage which is in effect in both the public and private sectors. The Ministry adjusts the minimum wage whenever it adjusts public sector wages. The minimum wage, which was set in January at about $80 (1,092 pesos) per month, functions more as an index for calculating wage rates than as a true measure of minimum subsistence levels, and it would not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The vast majority of workers earn more than the minimum wage.

 

The standard workweek is 48 hours in industry and 44 hours in commerce, with a 36-hour break each week. The law stipulates that industrial workers receive overtime compensation for work in excess of 48 hours and that workers are entitled to 20 days of paid vacation after a year of employment.

 

The law protects foreign workers and does not discriminate against them. However, in order to receive official protection, the companies that employ foreign workers must report them as employees. Many workers--both native and foreign--work off the books and thus forfeit certain legal protections.

 

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security enforces legislation regulating health and safety conditions in a generally effective manner. However, some of the regulations cover urban industrial workers more adequately than rural and agricultural workers. Workers have the right to remove themselves from what they consider hazardous or dangerous conditions.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

There are no laws specifically addressing trafficking in persons; however, there were some infrequent cases involving trafficking.

 

URUGUAY - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

URUGUAY - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The standard workweek is 48 hours in industry and 44 hours in commerce, with a 36-hour break each week. The law stipulates that industrial workers receive overtime compensation for work in excess of 48 hours and that workers are entitled to 20 days of paid vacation after a year of employment.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Uruguay – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)