Hugo Moyano (centre) with CTA’s Pablo Miceli (left) and CGT’s Luis Barrionuevo (right), are joining the strike (photo: Tito La Penna/Télam/jc)
Juan Carlos Schmid, General Secretary of the Argentine Confederation of Transport Workers (CATT), announced today the tentative date for the strike after meeting with Sergio Massa, former cabinet chief and current presidential pre-candidate.
The action is supported by the opposition factions of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT, led by Hugo Moyano) and, the Argentine Workers’ Central Union (CTA, led by Pablo Micheli) as well as Luis Barrionuevo’s Union of Tourism, Hotels, and Food (UTHGRA).
The unions continue to demand an increase in the non-taxable threshold on income (currently at $15,000), in spite of Economy Minister Axel Kicillof’s recent announcement of a decrease in income tax for those who earn a gross wage between $15,000 and $25,000 per month.
Other demands made by Moyano include a minimum salary of $8,600 and a minimum amount of the same value for pensioners.
The unions are also pushing for the current round of annual salary negotiations to be finalised. They claim the government is trying to cap wage increases at 27%, the level recently agreed with the faction of the CGT led by Antonio Caló, who is not joining the strike.
Kicillof insists that there is no formal limit on salary hikes, but called for “responsible” actions from unions and companies on account of what he said was a reduction in the rate of inflation this year.
The last national strike, held on 31st March, caused widespread disruption to services and public transport.
It has not yet been confirmed if there will be roadblocks on the day of the strike.
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