At the same time, the Argentinian Transportation Union (UTA) is giving President Javier Milei’s government a deadline of Monday to resolve an increase in the salaries of urban and suburban transport drivers, or they will go on strike tomorrow, Tuesday.

The UOM, which has suffered the dismissal of thousands of workers, said in a communiqué that it will paralyze activities for 24 hours on Wednesday in all the factories of the country, as part of the beginning of a new stage of the struggle plan called “Dignity First”, promoted with the aim of demanding a fair wage.

The powerful steelworkers’ union reaffirmed the measure of force as a commitment “to the defense of labor rights, the improvement of living conditions and respect for the dignity of work”.

This union struggle has as its background the incessant increase in the cost of living which in May contemplated a new increase in the rates of electricity, gas, water, prepaid clinics, rents and public transportation, as well as in foodstuffs such as bread, caused by the policy of iron economic adjustment of the government of Javier Milei.

The strike is part of a plan of action approved at the National Congress of Metalworkers’ Delegates 2025, held weeks ago in Mar del Plata, with the participation of more than 50 branches of the country.

The schedule contemplates staggered strikes of 48 and 72 hours in the following weeks, although the exact dates have not yet been defined.

The newspaper Página12 quotes Abel Furlán, president of the UOM at the national level, who warned at the meeting in Mar del Plata that “the situation is very complex.

We have already lost 22 ,000 jobs, and we are at risk of 30,000 to 50,000 more jobs due to the indiscriminate opening of imports. This worries us and puts us on our guard”.

Gabriel Gusso, secretary of the UTA, showed little hope that a virtual meeting could resolve the disagreement between the parties involved (the union, the companies and the government).

“The strike is a foregone conclusion, there is no reason for us to lift it,” said Gusso in an interview with Radio Urbana. And he added: “There is no intention to increase more than 1 percent as a ceiling and once the mandatory conciliation period has expired we are authorized to take this measure”.

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