ReturnNewsletter
French Spanish
SIVARA wins battle for recognition of street vendors
By Oscar Roberto Silva, SIVARA, Argentina
The Street Vendors Union of Argentinean Republic (SIVARA), was founded on the 13 December 1973. Its objective was to unite all the street vending sectors, hawkers (mobile vendors) and/or with fixed stalls, for the
development of their activities on the public thoroughfares and/or in the public or private sphere. The vendors include coffee merchants, women cosmetics vendors, vendors of crockery, sweets, clothing, vendors at sports stadiums, on trains, vendors during special events, etc.
The founding of SIVARA resulted from grave persecution that we suffered at the hands of the Municipal and Police Authorities who detained us for working and we were incarcerated for up to 30 days in prison. For this reason the following are some of SIVARA's main objectives.
1) Achieve recognition that Street Vendors are workers and that it is a profession. This point was achieved as the Ministry of Labour recognised and granted legal trade union Status to SIVARA in terms of which the police may not detain us in prison as they did in other times.
2) To struggle for freedom to work throughout the length and breadth of our country. At this time we are far advanced in achieving this objective by means of ordinances, provincial and national laws. To date, we have 70% protected by these legal instruments.
3) Another objective was to obtain health protection for vendors and their families. We now have Social Welfare protection and members obtain affordable health care.
At the moment SIVARA is working in the national parliament for the approval of a national law to protect vendors and in the city of Buenos Aires for a new ordinance for the protection of cheap goods vendors on public thoroughfares, in fairs in parks and squares in our city. We are also discussing the implementation of a
law to protect newspaper vendors, vendors in the railway environment and in sports stadiums.
These are some of the achievements obtained, but our greatest achievement is that the Authorities now respect our members as workers, with labour and social rights, who can retire with dignity. SIVARA has 17 205 active members.
SIVARA joined StreetNet International as a new affiliate this year.