The Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, put on the Government's political firefighter
suit again this Wednesday
to receive the CGT leadership and put out a new fire. Until Tuesday, when the Executive's invitation arrived, the
labor union was threatening to call a second general strike against
Javier Milei
's government
or a mobilization for the second week of May, which would be added to the commemoration of Workers' Day. After the meeting,
the possibility of a new strike seemed to lose strength
although we will have to wait until this Thursday for the result of the union leadership meeting that will define its next steps.
After almost three hours of a meeting, the union leaders left the Casa Rosada
ready to participate in a permanent dialogue table
with the Government and to support
limited changes in labor legislation
, but in exchange they demanded that the Executive
accelerate the approval of agreements. joint ventures
that he did not approve, such as the case of Truckers. At least
that was the commitment
that Javier Milei's officials assumed during the meeting.
For the Government it represents a
reset in its link
with the unions that was paralyzed after the mega DNU, whose labor chapter was stopped by Justice after the protection presented by the CGT. "
They do see it
," the President used to repeat privately about the union leaders.
Francos, who in the morning received the heads of the "dialogue" blocs in the Senate, was not alone at the summit with unionists in the Hall of Shields: he was
surprisingly accompanied by the Chief of Staff, Nicolás Posse
, the Secretary of the Interior , Lisandro Catalán, and the brand new Secretary of Labor,
Julio Cordero
. The Minister of the Interior was the first to leave in the middle of the political crisis that hits the ruling bloc, although those around him clarified that he had another commitment.
Proof of the change in the link between unions and the Government was the presence at the meeting of the
President's main advisor, Santiago Caputo
. "There is no decision to have an ideological confrontation or intention to demonize the unions," Caputo said during the meeting, according to the unionists. The officials reiterated to the union members their conviction that in the next 90 days
inflation will drop very sharply
.
Among the union leaders who attended the Rosada were the triumvirs
Héctor Daer and Carlos Acuña, the leaders Gerardo Martínez (Uocra), Andrés Rodríguez (UPCN), José Luis Lingeri (Sanitary Works), Cristian Jerónimo
(glass), Jorge Sola ( insurance) and Hugo Moyano (Truckers), among others.
"It was a cordial meeting. It was the first one we had since the Government was formed. We are going to support
everything that is reasonable
," said one of the meeting participants.
Union members prefer to talk about
labor modernization
instead of a reform and maintain that they are willing to support changes in
compensation
(severance fund),
system of fines for dismissals
, and the
extension of the trial period.
Are the
three points that they had endorsed before DNU 70 in informal conversations with Francos. The officials promised to show the articles to union members before moving forward with their treatment in Congress and refused to move forward with initiatives to limit the funds or power of the unions.
The most sensitive point of the meeting, key for there to be a rapprochement in the relationship, was the CGT's claim for the delay in the approval of the signed salary agreements, such as the case of Truckers, an issue that the officials promised to resolve in the short term. In fact,
Moyano, who replaced his son Pablo at the meeting, stayed half an hour longer at Balcarce 50 along with Cordero, Caputo, Sola and Daer
, when the majority had already left, to finish finding a solution to the joint agreement. of his guild. That meeting was more than relaxed.
The official intention is that the discussion for the validation of the Truckers' joint agreement can begin this Thursday from 9 a.m. at
the Ministry of Labor
in a definitive meeting between Cordero and Moyano. "We told the officials that the State has a non-delegable role in this and that it has to fulfill it," reiterated one of those present. In La Rosada, in any case, they insist that
they will not be standardized above inflation
. The union members respond that this will not happen, because the 2023 salary arrears are taken into account.
The definition of the Truckers conflict conditions the position that the CGT leadership will adopt on the methodology of the fight plan it is carrying out. From the union leadership they admitted to
Clarín
that if the negotiation with Moyano is resolved "very possibly" the
discussion on a new general strike
will be postponed in time. "If there is no concrete nod for it to be approved, it will be very difficult to think that there is a reasonable and real instance of dialogue," warned a leader.
During the meeting, in line with the commitment to show a change in favor of dialogue, Caputo also acknowledged to the unionists that
it was a mistake to skip the CGT's search for consensus with the Mega-DNU
, when Francos had already cleared the conversation with the unions regarding some axes to modernize labor legislation.
The labor chapter of DNU 70, which is stopped by the Labor Appeals Chamber, broke the incipient trust that Francos had woven with the union members against whom the President targeted in his speech in front of the Legislative Assembly on March 1. Close to the President they reiterate that "it was a strategic mistake" to advance without the permission of the unions. "We continue to dialogue with all sectors and work to build consensus that will allow us to carry out the reforms that Argentina needs," Francos said at the end of the meeting.
The possibility of a new strike, which the CGT board of directors will discuss this Thursday alone, was not discussed at the meeting, but the union leaders made clear that this chance is tied to the fate of the Truckers' agreement being approved. "
They called us when we talked about a strike
, it is obvious that they are worried," analyzed a union leader.
The Cegetista leadership also reminded Posse, Francos and Caputo that they had not yet held a meeting with the Superintendent of Health Services,
Gabriel Oriolo
, an official who came to his position at the hands of the Chief of Staff. They maintain their claims for debts with union social works and for the State to take care of the cost of disability treatments.
The leaders of the labor union did not finally take to Balcarce 50 the 13-page document
Agenda for a new social contract,
which includes 17 axes to increase productivity and employment, including changes in education, tax policy and co-participation. , among others.
The union members who attended the Rosada had earlier received the block of UxP senators at the headquarters of the workers' union. Daer celebrated the coordination between the Peronist bloc and the labor union and called for strengthening that alliance over time. In the afternoon, the signs were different.