In a context in which prices are accelerating again, the union center will have to wait to coordinate with the minister the guidelines for wages
By Alejandro DiBiasi
02/14/2023 – 8:55 p.m.
The political agenda conditioned the union’s agenda. The board of directors of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) will have to wait one more week, until the 23rd, for the meeting with the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa. Although from the workers’ union they stress the need for “free and homeless” parities, they admit that will accompany the measures to lower the cost of livingalthough they require a commitment from price makers and greater controls from the State.
The decision to postpone the meeting is due to the fact that next Thursday the first meeting of the Political Roundtable convened by President Alberto Fernández will be held, with the idea of aligning the Frente de Todos for the electoral process.
The problem is that This Tuesday the inflation data for January was released: the CPI showed an increase of 6%, while the index accumulated in the last 12 months scratched 99%, the worst figure in 30 years.
A cegetista source consulted by iProfesional clarified that “having a meeting with Massa in the preview of the Political Table was going to make noiseespecially taking into account that for the majority of trade unionists, today, he is the main candidate” and remarked that “we do not want to be left in the middle of an internal one where the Government already does a lot to favor the opposition”.
A representation of the CGT, with two of its owners, Héctor Daer and Carlos Acuña, participated in the relaunch of “Fair Prices”. Over there, Daer claimed: “We are never going to resign the freedom of parities”, although he maintained that “we represent a sector that is convinced that we have to go against inflation and that is why we support this initiative”, while calling for “increasing the purchasing power of wages and flattening this inflationary process into a definitive slope”. .
Unions aligned with the projections of the Economy
From the Palacio de Hacienda they insist that a salary increase of 60 percent with review clauses would set a trend for the business community. For now, the union leadership, beyond not being tied to a number, is accompanying. Specifically, the Buenos Aires municipalities (SUTECBA) of the ever-present Amadeo Genta, agreed to this figure in seven installments with revisions. Meanwhile, the Automotive Tramway Union (UTA), led by Roberto Fernández, signed three sections with the Argentine Federation of Passenger Automotive Transporters (FATAP): 10 percent in January, 10 percent in March and 7 percent in May. Being cumulative percentages, it gives 29.47 percent for the semester, a negotiation that could be repeated with other unions.
Before knowing the CPI for January, which was a setback for the Government, Pablo Moyano, the other co-head of the CGT, stated that “if there is a 60 percent increase in parity would be a success, because inflation is controlled”. Regarding the position of the Truckers in the salary bid, he explained that he will have an approximate percentage when they start discussing in the middle of the year. Gerardo Martínez, head of the Construction Workers’ Union (UOCRA), argued that “The CGT does not negotiate parities” nor does it accept floors or salary ceilings from the Executive Power. And Acuña indicated that “an agreement to lower inflation would be good, but those who have to comply are the businessmen, the price makers who led us to this disaster.”
Another concern of the unions is the critical situation that the obras sociales are going through, due to the withholding of funds by the Government. Spokesmen affirmed that Massa had committed himself to the CGT small table that, in the last four-month period of 2022 it would turn compensations for the coverage of its disabled affiliates for about 24,000 million pesos (in four payments of 6,000 million each). However, only two disbursements of 4,000 million each were received.
Massa expects the CGT to accept the 60% salary increase ceiling in the hope of starting a path of stability.
board meeting
On the other hand, a union referent told this outlet that Board meetings could resume on Wednesday to analyze various topics, from the electoral process to the income tax. The last meeting took place the day after the attack on Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The impossibility of organizing a national strike with mobilization divided the waters and each union space put together its own agenda.
Precisely on the political level, it transpired that the governor of Córdoba Juan Schiaretti held a meeting with the leader of the Federation of Commercial Employees, Armando Cavalieri, with the intention of bringing together various leaders of the plant such as Dáer, Acuña, Luis Barrionuevo, José Luis Lingeri, Andres Rodríguez and Gerardo Martínez. As he announced a couple of days ago, Schiaretti wants to be a candidate for President and has been working in a union alliance for a long time. “We will have to wait to see what the result of this move is,” said a historic leader
Schiaretti, who has a good relationship with several Cambiemos leaders, including Mauricio Macri, tries to put together a Peronism outside the Frente de Todos adding the governors Omar Perotti (Santa Fé) and Sergio Uñac (San Juan), without ruling out that referents such as Juan Manuel Urtubey join.
