Reopening collective bargaining and ending the wave of redundancies and suspensions are the main demands the CTA Autónoma (CTA-A) has and were the mottos of the last national day of struggle (Sept 27th).
“We cannot discuss forward, because we have been paying for this crisis since the austerity measures started. There is a need for dialogue,” José Rigane, Deputy Secretary General of the CTA-A, said in an interview with Argentine National Radio. He also spoke about the context of the ongoing economic adjustment, the unfairness of the retirees’ minimum pension, the CGT and the expected national strike.
“There are several reasons. There is an imperative need to reopen the collective bargaining for those unions who have not ended the discussion of the 2016 wage increase. We also demand the stop of the massive layoffs carried out with no reasons and on the basis of an unknown reform; and we demand an increase in the pensioners’ purchasing power that equates the minimum wage,” Rigane explained.
He also said that “in a context of adjustment, they are talking about a new labour flexibilization, they are talking about a reform in the retirement system, and these are central issues for workers so we need to open a dialogue table.”
Rigane told the Argentine National Radio that “nowadays, between 65 and 70 percent of retirees get paid the minimum pension, which is 5,000 pesos, but the basic food basket for a retiree costs currently about 12,000 pesos. No pensioner can live with 5,000 pesos, therefore we are asking for the minimum pension to be the same as the minimum wage.”
Regarding the CGT, he said “we believe there is a dispute between those who are decided to carry out a national strike and those who are not. We aspire to carry out a national strike in unity of action against the austerity policies applied by the government and for the government itself to open a dialogue table.”
To listen to the interview in Spanish, click here.
