Teachers demand a $6,400 minimum wage (photo: Carlos Cermele/Télam/jcp)
Buenos Aires Teachers Continue Strike: Teachers’ unions rejected the provincial government’s offer for a wage increase and will continue with the strike that began on 5th March. After a two-hour meeting at the Labour Ministry, union representatives stated that they “will carry on with the struggle until they give us a reasonable offer.” The government improved their first offer by proposing a 30.9% increase (5.4% more than originally offered) to be paid between March and August, at a cost of $1.2bn. This would bring the salary of a primary school teacher with no previous experience to $4,393 from March and $4,717 from August onwards. Union representative Mirta Petrocini, however, said that “there was no negotiation here. The government came with a closed proposal. We have not been able to intervene in the decision regarding our salary.” Teachers are demanding a 35% increase to be paid in full from March onwards.
Five Injured in Construction Site Collapse: Five people were injured this afternoon when the roof of a building site collapsed in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Parque Patricios. The wounded workers were taken to nearby hospitals Penna and Ramos Mejía, where they were treated for fractures and other injuries. Alberto Crescenti, director of the city’s emergency services, explained that “the roof gave way and the workers fell down two floors” and confirmed that no one was trapped in the rubble. The head of the Government’s Control Agency, Sebastián Ugarti, said that “we carry out proactive inspections of construction sites every two or three months and this site complied with the law. It was within the parameters.” The construction site belongs to private health insurance company OSDE.
Unions and Social Movements Protest Against Inflation: A group of activists from the Argentine Workers’ Union (CTA) and from different social movements are protesting today against “the worsening of the workers’ situation due to the devaluation and inflation.” The CTA faction led by Pablo Micheli, which opposes the national government, marched between 9 de Julio and Avenida de Mayo towards Plaza de Mayo. The protest is complemented by a series of strikes and rallies in different cities around the country, including road blocks.