Argentine grain receivers resume direct actions as salary talks fail

The union representing Argentina's grain receivers, Urgara, has announced that they will resume direct industrial action after salary negotiations with the country’s private ports chamber (CPPP) broke down.

The action is likely to disrupt activity at key grain ports, with Urgara warning that the action plan will include different direct actions, althoigh the union did not specify dates for potential action.

“There were a number of specific actions during the weekend. These are spasmodic measures but they negatively impact grain port operations,” an industry source told Agricensus.

Another market source said that Urgara is carrying out sudden strike actions at grain ports.

“These sudden strike actions with no prior notice are illegal and have the final goal of causing damage,” the source said.

“In view of the failure of the negotiations with the representatives of the Private Chamber of Commercial Ports, on November 5 we reinitiated the fight plan with different measures of direct action and permanent assemblies,” Urgara said in a statement.

“Despite our willingness to talk and our understanding of the social situation in the country with the observance of two mandatory conciliations, we find that the sole objective of the private port employers was to delay the salary discussion,” the union added.

Urgara said that CPPP had offered to advance 50% of the bonus only to those workers who had been provided services and not to pay it to those who were licensed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, something that the union said was unacceptable.

The union also said that the chamber failed to accept a reduction in the working hours.

According to Argentine law, after a mandatory conciliation period, unions can launch strike actions if a labor agreement was not reached during the process.

Last month, Urgara signed an agreement with Argentina’s crushers’ union federation FTCIOD with the aim of coordinating potential strike actions in the future.

Under the terms of the agreement, both unions will coordinate a joint strategy to negotiate salary increases and better working conditions.