By Trabajo Decente Escuela
On the 17 January marked the initiation of the dialogue between the merchants and vendors of the Informal Sector and the majority of the political forces in the country.
The forum was organised by the National Vendors` Unit (UNV), which was attended by the San Salvador mayoral candidates from the following political parties ARENA, GANA, PCN, Salvadoran Democracy and Democratic Change.
The merchants and vendors of the Informal Sector publicly presented their "Strategic Platform," which is the result of the dialogue between, and the unification of the visions and aspirations of the different organisations of Self-Employed Workers.
On previous days and in bilateral meetings, the leaders of the UNV presented their "Strategic Platform," to each of the candidates.
One by one, the candidates who could form the future municipal government propounded their positions in turn to the Protest Platform set up by the UNV, and promised to be the “allies” of the merchants and vendors of the Informal Sector.
They said that yesterday`s forum was “the beginning of the end of the conflict” and permanent dialogue would constitute the route for the search for solutions to the problems confronting the sector.
All the politicians who attended adopted the demands set out by the merchants and vendors as their own.
In their dissertations, each of the candidates recognised, before an audience made up of women, men and young self-employed workers, the harsh reality that these people have to confront in order to obtain daily livelihood for themselves and their families; as well as proposing the need for the construction of spaces and opportunities for decent work which would provide them with a dignified livelihood.
The candidates who attended the forum were: Edwin Zamora of the Republican Nationalist Alliance (ARENA); Walter Araujo of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA); Luis Cuenca of the National Consensus Party (PCN); Adolfo Salume of the Salvadorean Democratic Party (PDS); and CD and Roberto Cañas of the Democratic Change (CD).
These activities took place in Auditorium E of the Francisco Gavidia University(UFG).
