It is known: the mere mention of “labor reform” triggers the immediate rejection of the leadership that does not even begin to discuss it. However, as if the government enjoyed shooting itself in the feet, it appointed Syngenta CEO Antonio Aracre as Chief of Advisors to President Alberto Fernández, who began his administration with the intention of “modernizing the labor market”. The critics did not wait, led by one of the co-heads of the CGT, Pablo Moyano, who defined the new official as “a technician who will never have left an office”, He described him as a “blackmail” and even asked the head of state to fire him.
The rejections of Aracre kept happening with the passing of the days. From the Union Front for the National Model headed by Moyano, the head of the Canillitas union, Omar Plaini, also came out to question him, who recommended that he review state supplier companies that have “unregistered workers”, instead of “falling into the same error of the neoliberals or sectors of the right that are obsessed with Argentine labor legislation, which they want to eradicate definitively.”
The criticisms continued throughout the last few days, not only with expressions from the leadership of the CGT or the two CTAs, but also from deputies and senators from the Frente de Todos, who did not even accept Aracre’s clarifications, who explained that the statements were “in a personal capacity” and that the President “does not think nor does he believe a labor reform is necessary.”
Warnings from Pablo Moyano: “We are not going to wait another year”
In recent weeks, Moyano seems to have taken a different position with the government. Some argue that it is due to several unfulfilled demands (coverage of family allowances for all workers; impact of the Income Tax, generalized fixed sum to face inflation…). He had advanced: “We are not going to wait another year for our claims to be fulfilled” and warned that he could resort to forceful measures.
“We have a million workers who pay Profits and it’s crazy. We remove the withholdings from the mining companies and you continue to charge the worker. Either we seriously confront power and the powerful… or we remain lukewarm,” he graphed.
After Aracre’s expressions, the Deputy Secretary of Truckers stated: “Surely he never got into a truck, never grabbed a brush to sweep a company in rain or heat; He will never have entered a company to work. The truth is that as a union leader, as a Peronist, we cannot accept that these guys, who in their fucking lives suffered persecution or exploitation by businessmen, today come freely to say ‘I am going to present a labor reform project’.
Antonio Aracre took office as the new presidential adviser and has already received a shower of criticism from the union sector.
For Moyano, “there is no political leadership”
Outraged, he recommended: “Go to a factory, go to an industry, go into a metallurgical, automotive or bakery to see how people work… And you come freely to say that we are going to present a labor reform project to the opposition. workers’ rights that cost lives, sacrifice, torture and disappeared colleagues who defended the collective labor agreements”.
Continuing in critical mode, Moyano maintained: “There is no political leadership in our space, nor in the national PJ and much less in the provincial PJ, does not exist. We continue to feed the right wing, which is unpresentable, and giving titles to Clarín and La Nación”.
Regarding union participation in the candidacies in the preparation of lists for the next elections, Moyano was in favor of the PASO and admitted that “I am calling for the total unity of Peronism. I hope that possibility of finding a single candidate for our Government, trade unionism is fundamental so that the right does not return”.
Aracre and his intention of “labour modernization”
Aracre has become a regular participant in radio and television programs where he gives a vision of Argentina. Summoned by Alberto Fernández, the former CEO accepted the invitation to be Chief of Advisors to the President. He will only take office in February, although apparently he already has several “enemies”.
Among his first ideas referred to “a labor modernization for kids under 30 or adults over 50 with difficulties to enter the labor market. Today half of the workers are inside the system and half outside the labor system”. disputes that exist on other issues, I think it could be a labor modernization”.
He also urged “to make the processes more flexible and modern so that six million Argentines with informal or precarious work can more easily join the world of work.” The demonstrations woke up the union leadership, for which reason Aracre clarified that Alberto Fernández “does not think or believe that a labor reform is necessary.”
Pablo Moyano strongly questioned the labor reform proposed by Aracre. “Go to a factory,” he told her.
Postures of the two CTAs and the gaze of the CGT
The Workers’ CTA led by Hugo Yasky took advantage of the occasion to focus on Syngenta, while using Aracre as “a figure that is supposed to be friendly, but comes to the Government to talk about labor reform when those who evade or do not comply with the legislation are the businessmen” emphasizing that “Argentina’s labor problem is not the workers or the laws, which are admired in the rest of the world, but the employers.”
For his part, the Secretary General of the Autonomous CTA, Hugo “Cachorro” Godoy, said: “We had to face four years of Macrismo where they persecuted, threatened, filed cases and imprisoned the union leadership; they closed 25,000 SMEs, depreciated the minimum vital and mobile wage, unemployment and poverty rose and this good gentleman comes to talk about the labor reform” and He wondered: Does he know that it has already been applied and has not given results?
From the Union Front for the National Model led by Moyano together with Ricardo Pignanelli and Mario “Paco” Manrique (Mechanics, SMATA) and the Federal Workers’ Current headed by the bank Sergio Palazzo and the graphic artist Héctor Amichetti also questioned Aracre’s position ; while from the leadership of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) they preferred not to get involved in the controversy.
A CGT spokesperson told iProfessional: “The clarification came immediately; Alberto agrees that a labor reform is not necessary; in fact, the changes occur in the negotiations of the collective labor agreements, where unions and employers can agree on changes in work schedules; preventive measures or whatever is deemed appropriate. What cannot be done is to limit rights, although as the employment situation is, we see that there is a de facto flexibilization, but rather how it is understood that a registered worker has wages below the poverty line.
