Argentina's Rosario blockaded as workers mount protest action

Members of Argentina's CGT trade union have mounted blockades of the Rosario port complex on September 4, affecting normal grain operations across the key hub in an ongoing labour dispute, local press reported.

The protest actions, which blocked the accesses to ports and crushing facilities in the San Lorenzo and Timbues area, were carried out to protest dismissals in a number of companies with operations in the Rosario region.

The normal unloading of grains by trucks was affected with only 364 trucks unloading Tuesday, versus a daily average of 3,124.

Crushers implemented actions to guarantee the facilities remained operational.

Key grain exporters such as Cargill and Bunge had been facing protest over recent months due to the dismissal of workers.

In March, Cargill dismissed 33 workers as part of its plan to restructure operations in its plants in Villa Governador Galvez and Punta Alvear, near Rosario, and Bahia Blanca in Buenos Aires province.

Also, on 24 August, Bunge entered a voluntary conciliation process with oil crusher workers to try and solve a conflict after the dismissal of a group of workers from the firm’s Ramallo crushing facility.

Daniel Yofra, the secretary general of the oil crushers' union FTCIOD, recently told Agricensus that the union is considering strike actions in the event that Bunge refuses to back down on its plan to dismiss workers from the plant.