Unions in Argentina go on general strike against Milei government this Thursday (9)

The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) will carry out a 24-hour national strike in Argentina, this Thursday (9), against the president’s economic policies Javier Milei.

This is the second “measure of strength” against the Argentine government in five months. The first was on January 24th, when there was a 12-hour national strike.

“We are going on a 24-hour strike for salary adjustments for pensioners and retirees. We cannot make adjustments to the most vulnerable sectors, we want to resolve salary issues”stated the secretary general of the CGT, Héctor Daer.

The presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorniagain criticized the CGT in the hours before the new force measure and called the union a “the fundamentalists of backwardness”in addition to confirming that “State workers who stop will have a discount on the day”.

The strike is scheduled to begin at 0:00, Buenos Aires time, lasting until 11:59 pm and involves the stoppage of several activities and services.

Unions and the strike as a “measure of force”

The union seeks its second measure of strength in just five months of libertarian management, against the backdrop of the debate on the Basic Law in the Senate. Topics are discussed there “sensitive” for union leaders, such as the flexibility initiatives included in the labor reform promoted by Milei.

The massive appeal, generated weeks ago in the context of the Federal University March, showed that the president’s chainsaw managed to unify several sectors and groups of different political orientations against the adjustment.

The enormous popular participation in this march gave the CGT the impetus to launch this new forceful measure, knowing that new tariff increases will come in the coming months (strategically extended by the Government to temporarily deactivate a source of tension).

The vast majority of unions will stop this Thursday, as the forceful measure was called by the three large centers. The shutdown will be felt strongly during the day in almost all activities, even transport and public services. Some activity is only expected at certain commercial facilities.