The parity of the employees of the Congress is stopped and the legislatures not only blame the leaders of the two unions that group them but also point to the vice president and head of the Senate, Cristina Kirchner.
Since mid-May, some workers have been unhappy about the wage delay and the attitude of the union representatives, who have so far held informal talks, but there is no indication that they will meet immediately over the parity issue.
"Cristina has paralyzed the Senate but also the parity," complained an employee, making a parallel between what happens with salary negotiation and the functioning of the upper house.
It is clear that the tension in Congress is not only political, since workers are still waiting for a salary update in the face of inflationary escalation, which in April rose 8.4% and accumulates 32% in the year, according to data released by INDEC.
In addition, there is the concern of employees about the percentage that the Legislative Staff Association (APL), headed by Norberto Di Prospero, ends up closing. The closest precedent is the agreement of UPCN, the union of state commanded by Andrés Rodríguez with intervention also in the scope of parliament, which recently celebrated an increase of 33% accumulated for the June-August quarter.
All this in a rising inflationary context and when the May index is projected to be above 8%. "We don't have any numbers, we're waiting for them to tell us something. The discomfort is total because of the silence of the unions that are aligned with the vice president," protested an adviser.
Congressional staffers are upset about the delay in the parity.
While the meetings were repeated this week between the delegates and the plant workers, the first posters of repudiation began to appear as in the office of the Labor and Social Welfare Commission, in the Annex of the old building where the Savings Bank operated, where they put a photo of skeletons with a caption that read: "Legislative waiting for parity".
Memes critical of union representation are also circulating. In one of the images appears a scene from The Simpsons and Homer is seen with the face of Di Prospero lying in an armchair, with the remote control in his hand, and a balloon with a message that says: "There will be news soon. Everything I can tell you, I can't lie to you."
APL confirmed to Clarín that the congressional authorities have not yet met and explained that they are "in conversations" to advance a parity agreement.
In July of last year, the union of the legislatures closed the parity with an increase of 69% that was paid in two installments of 30% cumulative that took effect in July and October. In this way, the lowest category (A14) remained at about $ 120 thousand, while the highest (A1) stood at $ 492 thousand.
Among the workers there is criticism of the union that groups them.
What about the allowances of deputies and senators?
The salary update also arouses interest among deputies and senators, since the so-called "down payment law" allows them to match the increase in their salaries with the parity of legislative employees. This decision was agreed between the presidents of the main blocs and then endorsed in the enclosure almost to a closed book.
This situation had already generated tension at the close of the parity last year, when it was announced that legislators were going to receive the same percentage of increase as congressional employees.
The measure, which was also known in a context of strong crisis and high rise in inflation, generated a strong reaction in public opinion. For this reason, Cristina and Sergio Massa, at that time still at the head of the lower house, issued a joint statement by which they resolved that if the deputies and senators wanted an increase, they should vote on it in the chamber.
Finally, the legislators closed an agreement between the main forces and the increase was announced in November, in a lower percentage than the legislative ones, according to congressional spokesmen.
