The Government
will not approve the Truck Drivers' salary negotiation
and will impose
severe sanctions
on the union if on Monday the strike threat launched by Pablo Moyano is carried out. The decision, confirmed to
Clarín
by official sources, represents a clear definition of Javier Milei's management of
going all-out in the fight against the Moyano clan
right in the middle of a scenario of acceleration of social conflict and in the run-up to a week in which the leadership of
the CGT will resolve a new measure of force
against the libertarian administration.
This Friday , the Minister of Economy,
Luis Caputo
, was in charge of assuming the official response to Pablo Moyano's warning to paralyze all cargo transportation if the sectoral parity was not approved before Monday. Caputo confirmed that the salary agreement
, which set
a 25% increase for March salaries and another 20% for April ,
will not be validated
, arguing that these parameters exceed the forecasts for the evolution of inflation during those two months.
"We are not going to approve it because the joint venture has to have a logic, it has to be reasonable.
The joint ventures are free but why are you going to approve something that is going to cause a problem for you?
" the minister remarked in statements.
And although he insisted that the approval of the salary agreement is the responsibility of the Secretary of Labor, Julio Cordero, he warned that "if he (the official) approves a 25% increase in February when inflation was 13%, and 20% in March when inflation is going to be 10%, the next one who comes is going to say: 'Well, give me 30% in April'”, in reference to the possibility that the increases will be passed on to prices, accelerate the inflation and the scenario leads to a new economic imbalance.
In line with Caputo's position, the Ministry of Labor confirmed this Saturday that the Truck Drivers' joint union will not be approved and
warned of imposing sanctions on the union
if Hugo and Pablo Moyano move forward with their threat to paralyze the activity. "If the force measure is carried out,
we will consider it illegitimate
. We ask Moyano to remain within the framework of the law, the people voted for a profound change, now the rules are complied with and no one is above the law
... more powerful than any trade unionist believes himself to be
," they pointed out from the organization headed by Cordero.
But
unlike Caputo's arguments for not standardizing
the salary agreement - a justification that puts the freedom of joint negotiation in crisis and whitewashes the official effort to ensure a cap on increases -, Labor attributed that decision to
the challenges made against the agreement
by some business chambers of the activity.
"The agreement they are pushing for has had serious challenges from chamber members and, until these are resolved,
it cannot be approved
." they indicated. And along the same lines they added: "The State has a function to fulfill which is to guarantee public order: that is, that the rights of third parties on whom this agreement will be imposed if it is approved are not affected."
Close to Cordero they listed that these presentations were made by the Santiago del Estero Chamber of Transportation (CATSE), the Mendoza Truck Owners Association (Aprocam), the Córdoba Cargo Transportation Business Chamber (CEDAC) and the Owners Union San Juan Truckers (Uprocam). Centrally, the four chambers questioned the points of the agreement that incorporate
the payment of salary supplements and an extraordinary contribution
of $10,000 per month per worker for the union's social work.
These entities are represented in the joint discussion by the Argentine Federation of Freight Motor Transport Business Entities (FADEEAC), which together with the FAETYL, the other sectoral chamber, signed on February 23 together with Hugo Moyano the 45% salary increase for March and April, an agreement that was presented to Labor for validation.
The then secretary Omar Yasín - who was unusually fired by Milei after the controversy over the salary increase for the President and the cabinet in which he had had no influence - delayed the approval in line with the policy of not homologating those joint ventures from the private sector that will exceed the ceiling imposed by Economy. "
Caputo's order is not to validate increases greater than 14% in March and 9% in April
," they said near the outgoing official.
After Cordero's arrival, progress was made in approving more than 40 agreements and this Friday another 22 were made official, among them the salary agreements that involve the Health union, led by Héctor Daer, one of the triumvirs of the CGT and a reference in the sector. dialoguist of the center.
Hugo Moyano himself reacted this Saturday to that decision and punished part of his peers in the Cegetista leadership: "
Some try to negotiate with Milei, but the Government does not pay attention to them
," the trucker leader reproached in radio statements, although
he avoided confirm a strike
for Monday.
It happens that the majority of the large companies grouped in FAETYL
have already begun to settle the increases
as agreed upon in the joint meeting and the rest plan to do so at the beginning of the week. Meanwhile, FADEEAC, the entity that represents the chambers that presented challenges, sent a note to its members in which it explained that since the agreement was not approved, "the payment of the increase is neither enforceable nor obligatory."
However, he recommended that "
the best alternative would be to pay the amount or percentage that they consider appropriate as an advance payment
of salaries and without this having an influence on contributions to social security."