The nationwide train strike announced by La Fraternidad, the union that brings together train drivers, began at midnight this Wednesday and will last 24 hours throughout the country to request the
recomposition of salaries
.
"We have been doing this strike to all the governments that do not listen to the workers' demands. We are tired of saying that they should update our salaries due to rampant inflation.
Patience is over
," said the union secretary of La Fraternidad,
Omar Maturano .
,
in statements he made on
TN
on Tuesday night, minutes before the start of the strike.
The
Ministry of Transportation
, in addition to La Fraternidad, summoned
three unions
for this Wednesday morning
, La Unión Ferroviaria (UF), the Association of Management Personnel of Argentine Railways and Ports (APDFA) and the Association of Railway Signalmen Argentines (ASFA), to
continue with negotiations
at the headquarters of the former Ministry of Labor.
In an official text, he also clarified that "the joint negotiation with the sector is open and in which, at the beginning of the month, it already granted a 16 percent increase in the gross salaries of the workers."
At the meeting, the unions stated in a statement, they hope "to be able to reach an agreement that allows them to continue supporting the purchasing power of salaries, in this difficult economic situation that is being experienced" for the period March 2023-April 2024.
The document signed by Sergio Sasia (UF), Adrián Silva (APDFA) and Enrique Maigua (ASFA), detailed that the negotiation will contemplate workers who perform tasks in SOFSE companies (AMBA, Long Distance and Regional, and Central Offices), ADIFSE, BCYL (Belgrano, San Martín and Urquiza Lines), DECAHF SAPEM, Ferrovías SAC and Metrovías SA
They also recalled that they have "agreed, as communicated in the previous circular of February 1, 2024, to 16% (sixteen percent) on account and the extension of the validity of the In-Person Bonus in compensation as part of the phase-out of the last agreement of the year 2023 for the months of November and December".
Train stoppage throughout the country this Wednesday.
As the strike will be carried out by La Fraternidad, metropolitan and freight trains will not be able to be used and users will have to look for alternative means of transportation.
A train stoppage that will affect millions of users
In the
Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA),
the strike will be felt strongly because the five railway lines
transport millions of people daily from the Conurbano to the City
, and vice versa, so bus stops at key stations will surely collapse. such as Constitution, Once and Retirement.
During this Wednesday, the trains on the
Roca, Sarmiento, Mitre, San Martín and Belgrano Sur lines
, managed by the National State,
will not operate
in the AMBA .
And the machinists of Belgrano Norte and Urquiza
, which are in private hands,
will also join .
Meanwhile,
long-distance services will operate normally, as will the subways
, with the exception of line D, which remains closed for works until mid-March.
The strike of machinists was announced last Friday in a statement signed by the union leadership of La Fraternidad.
"In a meeting on 02/16/2024 it was decided to exercise the right to strike (Art. 14 Bis of the CN), on February 21, 2024, from 00:00 to 24 hours; in response to the lack of discussion parity and a salary proposal appropriate to the rampant inflation that deteriorates the salaries - which are of a nutritional nature - of the train driving staff, causing them irreparable damage," was detailed in the union document.
The Government criticized the train strike and summoned the unions
The
Ministry of Transportation confirmed that "the joint negotiation is open"
with the railway sector and announced that the unions of this branch, including La Fraternidad, are "called" for a meeting with the objective of "continuing with the negotiations" of the parity.
As recalled by the Secretariat, at the beginning of February "an increase of 16 percent was granted to the gross salaries of workers."
Communiqué from the Ministry of Transportation.
In the statement, Transportation criticized the force measure called by the Fraternity, in contrast to other railway unions.
"The measure of force on the part of La Fraternidad is incomprehensible, which entails bad negotiating faith as the joint negotiating table is in full force, even having reached, at the beginning of the month, positive results in the agreements," the statement concluded. .
In response to this text, La Fraternidad assured that the Government
"did not call the parties to mandatory conciliation."
"The Fraternity informs that the inconvenience that the user public suffers on the 21st is 'Sole, Total and Absolute Responsibility of the National Government', which, in ignorance of the current Legislation, did not call the parties to mandatory conciliation," the union stated. led by Omar Maturano.
From the union entity they indicated that the legislation obliges the parties in conflict to debate fifteen business days, plus five more days, "to arrive at a solution to the issue in question, with the State being the moderator of the debate."
IS