Waste pickers in Argentina unionize to defend their livelihoods

The waste pickers of Salta, Argentina, many of whom collect recyclables using traditional, horse-drawn carts, decided to join the Federation of Waste Pickers of Argentina and the Federation of Workers of the Popular Economy. They decided to unionize to say no more to the intense harassment they had been facing at the San Javier dumpsite and in the rest of the province. Their main objective is to defend their livelihood and their rights. Since 2010, the waste pickers of Salta have been victims of an ordinance pushed by the NGOs that claim to protect animal rights but actually only see them as a business. At the San Javier dumpsite in Salta, it is clear what the municipality’s priorities are: to give contracts to the private company, Agrotécnica Fueguina, and to leave the waste pickers in the worst conditions while it is the pickers that are providing an important public service for the well-being of Salta. Read the complete article (in Spanish).