The very realization of the railway strike
surprised
Omar
Maturano
, the head of the union who called for the measure of force.
He assumed - like the rest of the union actors - that the Government would call for mandatory conciliation and that salary negotiations would continue.
It was not so.
A series of questions arise here.
According to Maturano, the administration of
Javier Mile
i inaugurated a new policy: not to dictate conciliation and let conflicts escalate.
The Ministry of Labor did not confirm the union leader's version, but there is little left to see if his version is true: the Health union
called for a 24-hour strike for this Thursday.
Beyond that, the intention of the union led by Cegetista
Héctor Daer
is to stop this Thursday under the argument that
if they released prices and tariffs for businessmen, they cannot prevent the measure.
Maturano is an
irascible and unpredictable
trade unionist ;
Due to these characteristics ,
he even shares
a nickname in the union world with President Javier Milei.
According to what they say, the railwayman's decision was unexpected for the rest of the members of the Board of Directors of La Fraternidad and for the bosses of the other three unions of the activity.
Although they do not work in tandem, the four of them
usually negotiate
together.
Omar Maturano, from La Fraternidad, with Sergio Sasia, head of Unión Ferroviaria, who did not go on strike.
The railway unions were expected to resume salary negotiations after the release of the inflation index, which was known last week.
For this reason, the strike call dislocated their peers from other unions.
In parentheses: this Wednesday the unions and government authorities met.
Maturano's son and his second son participated in the meeting, and they asked that the minutes state that the conciliation had not been issued.
The position of the officials present was that it had not been dictated because there was an open framework for negotiation.
Some in the CGT interpret that the Government's decision to let the strike take place
shows a lack of expertise
and also a lack of policy on the part of the Milei management.
They do not punish Secretary of Labor Omar Yasín punctually, but
almost out of mercy
: they maintain that decisions
are made above him and that he lacks negotiating power.
"There is no one to talk to,"
complains a historic Cegetista leader.
power dispute
But what happened with the railway strike seems to indicate that the Casa Rosada's policy of confrontation with deputies, governors and union members is thorough, regardless - at least for now - if a measure of force affects hundreds of thousands of people.
Along these lines, the presidential spokesperson accused the unions of having little representation and a bad image in society.
A classic of these fights.
The journalist
Gustavo Bazzan
cleverly summarized on Twitter what would be the Government's position.
"1990: branch that stops, branch that closes. 2024: branch that stops, branch that chainsaws."
1990: branch that stops, branch that closes
2024: branch that stops, branch that chainsaws
— gbazzan (@gbazzan) February 21, 2024
If it is a policy, we will have to see the result in the medium and long term.
The unions understand that the Government
is playing with fire
and that it does not foresee the potential dangers it would face if union and social conflicts escalate.
For now, of course, the CGT is not even thinking about calling a general strike again.
At the headquarters, what they do estimate is that an explosion of conflicts is coming sector by sector.
Constitución Station, empty this Wednesday.
Photo:Guillermo Rodríguez Adami.
In a process of brutal and widespread loss of purchasing power, the question is what margin the Government - Milei arrived at La Rosada just 73 days ago - has to confront and not agree to negotiate.
The fight is not economic, it is about power.