Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

ARGENTINA: Why we strike?

10 demands for the general strike in Argentina

Facebook Twitter Share

1- No ceiling on salary increases at wage negotiations. Bank tellers and oil workers have shown it is possible to break the government policy on salaries (they’ve reached increases over 30 percent).

2- Living wage for all workers and decent pensions. Pensions to retired workers should be 82 percent of a living wage. According to the Argentinian Statistics and Census workers (INDEC), the basic family cost of living was estimated in 12,800 pesos (near 1,300 dollars) in February. But in Argentina, half of the workers only reach 5,500 pesos. Seventy percent of retired workers get only the minimum pension (3,821 pesos), far away from the 82 percent rule, which should be applied.

3- No More Families Left in The Streets! Support ongoing struggles. There are layoffs in many industries like auto parts and a car industry (Fate and Fiat). Also workers from Cresta Roja (food processing plant) faces layoffs. Printing sector workers face massive attacks like the closing of Worldcolor. The workers controlled factory Madygraf (formerly Donnelley) along with other militant rank and file unionists have started a campaign to support Worldcolor’s workers.

4- Job protection for all workers. No more precarious jobs. During the last Kirchnerist decade, bosses and companies have benefited from low wages and poor working conditions imposed on workers. This is because workers have no protection and they can be fired workers at will. Half of the working class only receive a minimum wage (which does not cover basic needs) and have no rights at the workplace. We demand contracts and job protection for all workers.

5- Women workers’ rights. Women face inequality and abuse at workplaces everywhere. After massive demonstration #NiUnaMenos , this national strike must support women workers’ rights.

6- Stop the attacks from the thugs of the union bureaucracy. Every time workers start organizing themselves independently, they face resistance from the State, the bosses and the union bureaucrats. Read about the union thugs’ attacks against Damian Gonzalez, reinstated worker in Lear Corporation . This is not an exception; more than 5,000 workers, students and left activists face legal persecution.

7- Against income tax, which unfairly burdens the workers. Let’s tax the bosses, the rich and the judges. Wages are not profit!

8- Stop precarious jobs. Millions of workers face poor working and living conditions. The textile industry is one of the worst; many workers live at the workplaces (sweatshops) with their families. Argentina faces a serious housing crisis (14 million people live in precarious conditions).

9- Let’s support ongoing struggles. We need to take bakc and rebuild workers’ organization, organize the unorganized and fight the union bureaucracy.

10- Workers see wages drop as the bosses get richer. The bosses got wealthier during the Kirchnernist governments. Scioli, Massa and Macri take the side of the employers too. That’s why a massive general strike, with demands of the working class, organized by the rank and file, is the best way to fight against the bosses, the state and the union bureaucracy.

Facebook Twitter Share

La Izquierda Diario Argentina

Our Argentinian sister site, part of the international network of La Izquierda Diario

Labor Movement

“Our Big Push Was for Union Democracy and a Plan to Win”: An Interview with the Amazon Labour Union Democratic Reform Caucus

Two years after the historic victory at JFK8, Amazon workers voted in a referendum in their union. They want to hold new elections and revise the constitution, as part of a struggle to make ALU more democratic and militant. Left Voice spoke with two organizers to discuss the struggle in ALU.

Luigi Morris

March 20, 2024
A banner reads "Real Wages Or We Strike" at a rally for CUNY, which is experiencing cuts from Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul.

CUNY Faculty and Staff Have Gone One Year Without a Contract — It’s Time to Strike

CUNY workers have been without a new contract for a full year and the university has yet to make any economic offers. It's time to take action.

Olivia Wood

February 29, 2024
Florida governor Ron DeSantis stands at a podium that reds "Higher Education Reform"

U.S. Higher Education Is Being Gutted, but We Can Fight Back

Across the United States, higher education is being gutted through program eliminations and budget cuts. We must prepare to fight these attacks with everything we have.

Olivia Wood

February 28, 2024
CUNY workers at a demonstration hold a banner that reads "STRIKE TO SAVE CUNY."

CUNY Workers Launch New Strike Campaign

As Governor Hochul proposes another $528 million in cuts, workers at the City University of New York are fighting back.

Olivia Wood

February 12, 2024

MOST RECENT

A square in Argentina is full of protesters holding red banners

48 Years After the Military Coup, Tens of Thousands in Argentina Take to the Streets Against Denialism and the Far Right

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina on March 24 to demand justice for the victims of the state and the military dictatorship of 1976. This year, the annual march had renewed significance, defying the far-right government’s denialism and attacks against the working class and poor.

Madeleine Freeman

March 25, 2024

The Convulsive Interregnum of the International Situation

The capitalist world is in a "permacrisis" — a prolonged period of instability which may lead to catastrophic events. The ongoing struggles for hegemony could lead to open military conflicts.

Claudia Cinatti

March 22, 2024

Berlin’s Mayor Loves Antisemites

Kai Wegner denounces the “antisemitism” of left-wing Jews — while he embraces the most high-profile antisemitic conspiracy theorist in the world.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 22, 2024

What “The Daily” Gets Right and Wrong about Oregon’s Move to Recriminalize Drugs

A doctor at an overdose-prevention center responds to The Daily, a podcast produced by the New York Times, on the recriminalization of drugs in Oregon. What are the true causes of the addiction crisis, and how can we solve it?

Mike Pappas

March 22, 2024