A 24-hour strike by transport unions in protest against the adjustment promoted by libertarian president Javier Milei and in demand of salary improvements affected thousands of Argentines on Wednesday who faced complications in getting to their jobs due to lack of trains, planes and subways. .
The measure also affected ship, port, maritime and shipyard activities, affecting the ports of Buenos Aires, La Plata, Bahía Blanca and Rosario, which could impact foreign trade.
The only means of transport that worked were buses, whose unions plan to carry out a separate strike on Thursday, while they negotiate a salary increase.
“I have to work and this ruins me. For me, the strike they are doing is wrong,” a worker told the television channel La Nación+ while standing in a long line at the bus stop, “It took me an hour and a half to get there.” “he added.
State employees, some teaching and university unions also joined the measure of force to protest against a series of layoffs in public organizations and to demand an increase in the university budget.
“It is a strike against an economic and social policy,” Omar Maturano, general secretary of Argentina’s train drivers’ union, told local television channel TN. “It’s the only way we can find to fight,” he added.
The strike also affected cargo transportation, waste collection and aeronautical unions, which implied delays and complications not only for Aerolíneas Argentinas but also for other companies that do not have a union presence, many of which began to reschedule their flights.
Some union members were also protesting against the Government’s proposal to privatize Aerolíneas Argentinas, which has cut its workforce in recent months, amid the adjustment promoted by Milei to overcome a deep economic crisis.
“The unionists don’t let you work,” said a message broadcast on the screens of the train stations and on an official mobile application, a decision by the Government that generated controversy in which it questioned the transport strike and invited citizens to report if they were coerced to stop.
The protesters plan to hold popular pots throughout Wednesday in different parts of Buenos Aires, amid social tensions due to the increase in poverty, which affects 52.9% of Argentines.
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