Mercado Libre became a powerful magnet for trade unionists and social leaders. In view of the impending change of government, Hugo Moyano and Armando Cavalieri intensified the pressures to frame the employees of the logistics plant of the e-commerce platform. Thus, he added a new front to which he already had open with the bank Sergio Palazzo, who seeks to represent the workers of Mercado Pago; and piquetero Juan Grabois, a staunch critic of the tax regime that favors the signing of Marcos Galperin.
The deputy secretary of Truckers, Pablo Moyano, confirms that in the coming weeks he will seek to terminate the labor agreement agreed between the company and the Loading and Unloading Union at the Central Market distribution center, where many of the changes were applied provided for in the labor reform of Mauricio Macri.
"After December, the Ministry of Labor will be asked for the cancellation of the loading and unloading agreement, since it was the Macri Government with the company to pay lower wages, a terrible labor flexibility," insures the number two of the union to iProUP .The idea is to await the appointment of the new head of the Ministry of Labor, in which Claudio Moroni sounds safe, and once the changes are formalized by Alberto Fernández to resume the efforts to unlock the resource presented to the Production portfolio.
The union's lawyer, Hugo Moyano (son), challenged on November 5 the agreement between the union led by Daniel Vila and Mercado Libre for considering him "a fraudulent and spurious pact", while also initiating a criminal complaint against the minister Dante Sica for homologating it in record time and irregularly, as reported by the group.
The Moyanos outpost coincides with the reappearance of Cavalieri, the leader of the merchants and a historic truck driver's rival who now gave way to his subsidiary of La Matanza to intervene in the dispute. The fact was reflected in the visit to the logistics center of Mercado Libre in Villa Madero, which was made last week by a group of delegates from the Trade Union of Employees and Workers of Commerce and Related Western Zone (SEOCA) to frame administrative employees, according to La Nation. An attempt that was frustrated by the company.
The head of the section is Julio Rubén Ledesma, a former Massista deputy who took his own initiative on the eve of the change of government, although from the union dome they also did not hinder the loss of affiliates at the hands of other unions.
"We will have our own delegates," they say from the "gypsy" environment. Until now, Cavalieri had a low profile since it signed a tacit agreement with Galperin to represent some 600 employees of the 4,600 in the offices of Argentina, in which there are currently no union representatives.
The movement of the merchants surprised the management of MeLi (name taken by the company in NASDAQ). There, they recognize that "there is always dialogue" with the unions that have employees of the company.
But they were reassured to find out that for now there was no formal claim of framing. The company had already warned at the beginning of the month in front of the complaint of Truckers that "the framing of the employees of the Storage Center is adequate, since this collective agreement foresees an activity different from those contemplated in other agreements. In our case, it is the support to operations carried out under the electronic commerce modality ".
The loading and unloading agreement (1591/2019) marked a before and after. Iron supporter of the Brazilian labor reform, the CEO and founder achieved an understanding at the company level that modifies key central aspects of the Labor Contract Law, such as the implementation of a maximum day of 192 hours per month with daily sessions of up to 12 hours (bank of hours), rotating shifts and piecework. It also includes the division of vacations and their enjoyment at any time of the year; versatility or multifunction; suspensions with payment of 50% and limitations on the right to strike.
Fintech and picket front
In addition to Moyano and Cavalieri, the owner of Mercado Libre has other flanks to attend at this time. Although the eCommerce sector has registered a 64% increase in its turnover in the last Cybermonday, the company's last balance showed a loss of almost US $ 150 million in the third quarter of this year due to investments in technology , logistics and marketing. Red was not compensated by a 90% growth in the volume of payments of MercadoPago, its financial arm.
That company is precisely the one in the sights of the bank Sergio Palazzo, who confronted the CEO openly to frame the 10,000 workers of the banking platforms. The trade unionist close to Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner had been invited by the Argentine Chamber of Fintech to a meeting with Galperín at the beginning of November, iProUP revealed, to file harshness, but Palazzo left the appointment suspended after the lunch he had with Fernández weeks ago.
Now the banking union is involved in the dispute that is currently being waged in the trade union sphere for obtaining positions and defining policies in strategic areas of the Ministry of Labor, Social Development, Transportation, Health and public banking.
That silent bid for places of influence could have consequences for digital finance, whose CEOs are concerned about the possibility that Miguel Pesce, the probable head of the BCRA, will advance in the regulation of a sector that grew strongly during the macroism encouraged by the Lack of credit and tax benefits.The unionist is today one of the main drivers of "new rules" for fintech, a position backed by private national capital banks numbered in ADEBA.
"It is up to the sectors benefited by the irresponsible decisions that were their government to take charge and respond to the extent of their bulky income. First, those who did business in open conflict of interests for which they must respond to Justice," he warned. Last week, in a statement, the Federal Current of Workers headed by Palazzzo.
Attentive to the new political scenario, Galperin was one of the first high-profile entrepreneurs to meet with Fernández after PASO and congratulate him via Twitter after his victory in the October 27 elections.
One of his concerns now is the imminent change in the tax regime, so weeks ago he suggested in an interview with Profile - as he did on other occasions - the possibility of moving the headquarters of his company to another country in the event of a possible change of the personal property tax.
On the other hand, the CGT and grassroots movements seek to take advantage of the framework of the social pact promoted by the president-elect to set new taxes to the private sector. And one of the favorite targets is the owner of the main Argentine unicorn, which is visualized as one of the main beneficiaries of macrismo.
"I would like to discuss ideas and taxes that Galperin does not pay without telling me vaguely and without me having to tell him a smuggler," CTEP leader Juan Grabois said weeks ago in radio statements.The social referent presented last week its government program with Máximo Kirchner at the Faculty of Medicine, an appointment in which he raised the need to stimulate "redistribution of wealth" and "economic democracy."
In their environment they still chew with anger the measure provided by the ANSES that enabled the millionaire payment of social plans with the virtual wallet of Mercado Pago. For Grabois, that decision was a "privatization" of the payment system that, in his opinion, could be channeled through a similar service offered by the National Bank.
But in their environment they also seek to "review the tax advantages that at a minimum no longer need" Mercado Libre. The idea of the leader of the CTEP is that to reduce poverty, those who won the most have to "give in".
"And that 1% does not want to yield, or bleach the twine, or pay more taxes," said the territorial leader weeks ago. "You have to take unjustified tax exemptions, such as the ones Galperin has, the richest guy in the country that has silver in a tax haven and has 70% of the income tax subsidized by the population as a whole," he added.
Last May, Grabois had presented with the Observatory of Economic and Public Policy (OCEPP) a report accusing Mercado Libre of charging more and more commissions to sellers in "an abuse of dominant position" and of having a " inappropriate legal framework "within the Software Promotion Law that favored it in tax terms. And in July, the CEO of Mercado Libre replied to him on Twitter: "Maybe, one day, you can think of it too!" That is another of the many fronts of conflict that Galperin must attend after December 10.