UGT Secretariat ends without next president's proposal voting

Sfollowing the call to which Lusa had access, one of the items on the agenda concerned the “proposal for candidacy for president of the UGT”, whose election is made in Congress from a proposal submitted by 20% of delegates or, alternatively, on a proposal from the national secretariat.

Three trade union sources indicated to Lusa, that at this morning's meeting the social-democratic tendency in the UGT was foreseen to re-present the name Francisco Pimentel. However, when the national secretariat was to vote, Social Democratic Workers (TSD) asked to withdraw that point.

The decision takes place after the previous national secretariat, held on 30 July, the name of the PSD deputy and president of the SINTAP Francisco Pimentel was vetoed by the maximum executive body of the trade union centre, a situation classified as “deployable” by the Secretary-General of the TSD.

Within the UGT there is an implicit agreement that dictates that the TSD choose the candidate for president and the socialist tendency chooses the candidate for Secretary-General.

Thus, despite this previous procedure, and as in the other bodies, the future president of the UGT will only be formally elected at the Congress of the trade union central, which takes place on October 10 and 11 at Figueira da Foz.

The votes of the President and Secretary-General of the UGT are taken separately in Congress, since these are single-minded bodies.

Thus, in the face of this impasse, everything remains open about who can succeed Lucinda Damaso in the presidency of the UGT, a position that the social democrat and former vice president of the PSD has held since 2013.

Nevertheless, according to the sources heard by Lusa, there are several scenarios on the table: the Social-Democratic tendency presents a new name in the next national secretariat, whose date is not yet closed but should take place before Congress, or insists on the candidacy of Francisco Pimentel, hoping to have the ‘respend’ of 20% of delegates in Congress.

It may also be the case that they again submit the name Francisco Pimentel to a new vote at the next meeting of the National Secretariat of the UGT, but one of the sources heard by Lusa anticipates that this is a less likely scenario.

Born on July 20, 1959, Francisco Pimentel is a law graduate and is currently a PSD deputy in the Azores.

Superior Inspector of the Public Administration of the Azores, the Social Democrat holds several public positions, namely as president of Sintap, President of the TSD Congress Azores and member of the Regional Political Commission of the PSD/Azores.

Lusa has tried to contact Francisco Pimentel, as well as the Secretary-General of the TSD, but is still awaiting an answer.