Although it recently signed the 2022-2023 joint review with an annual increase of 102 percent, FOEPA accelerated the negotiations with the businessmen
By Alejandro DiBiasi
31/03/2023 – 08,44hs
Although a few days ago it signed the 2022-2023 joint review with an annual increase of 102 percent, the leadership of the Federation of Workers, Bakers and Allied Workers of the Province of Buenos Aires (FOEPA) accelerated negotiations with the business chambers and achieved an increase of 30 percent for five months, bringing the basics of Buenos Aires workers to about 221,000 pesos.
Besides, an automatic review clause was agreed in the event that inflation exceeds the scheduled increase.
The general secretary of the union organization, Gastón Frutos, explained to iProfessional that “the constant rise in prices -especially of the food basket- forces us to be permanently discussing an urgent recovery of the purchasing power of workers” and added that “after closing the last parity we communicated to the businessmen that it was imperative agree on an increase for the coming months and set the percentages for the period 2023-2024”.
He expressed that “it is clear that we have set goals that are beyond defend jobs or sustain income; this leadership is convinced that we must fight -privileging dialogue, but firmly- for a distribution of income so that the worker and the worker do not lose in this unequal fight against inflation”.
“In the Federal Capital, starvation wages are being paid”
Frutos warned that “we are in communication with all the delegations that we urge to fight to improve the income of our compañeros and compañeras” and alerted about the situation in the City of Buenos Aires “where starvation wages are being paid, since the basics do not reach 100,000 pesos.”
The leader indicated that “last month we activated the peer review 2022-2023 with an accumulated rise of 102 percent” exceeding inflation by almost 10%, which, from January to December of last year, was 94.8 percent according to INDEC.
Buenos Aires bakers closed parity and brought the basics to $ 221,000
“Once we closed the agreement – he recalled – it was established that by the end of March we were going to meet with the representatives of the Buenos Aires Business Chamber to start designing this year’s numbers,” he said.
In this way, the Federation of Employees, Bakers and Allied Workers of the Province of Buenos Aires is another of the unions that is going for the short parity (five months) exceeding the guideline of the Ministry of Economy of 30 percent every six months or 60 percent annually.
Agreement to eradicate gender violence and wage inequality
On the other hand, the Federation reported that it signed with the Argentine Federation of the Bread and Related Industry (FAIPA), an agreement to eradicate gender violence, wage inequality and workplace harassment of women. In this regard, Frutos stated that the agreement is “a qualitative leap” in the union sphere, since it aims at the search for gender equality in terms of opportunities and treatment in the workplace.
He added that “our priority is women and young workers from all over the country, that is why the signing of this agreement that belongs to all the colleagues to improve our working life and protect women from inequality, violence and harassment that could occur in those areas”. Participated in the signing Frutos and the Secretary for Equal Treatment, Gender and Opportunities, Rosana Gabriela Farías, on behalf of the workers and Miguel Ángel Dibetta on behalf of the employers.
The framework agreement commits the parties to recognize that “the workplace violence prevents the achievement of the principle of non-discrimination and equal opportunities”, and that any action outside these lines will imply “abuse of authority” and the degradation of inalienable rights, as well as the dignity of workers, their physical and mental health.
Farías, who was the promoter of the agreement, stressed that “now we are going to go in depth, We are going to give a frontal fight against things that we have been denouncing, especially in matters of unequal pay. We are going to work hard for this; stronger still.”
