Government, CGT and the UIA agreed to advance parities and create a food basket

The Government, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) agreed on Tuesday afternoon a series of measures with the aim of containing inflationary expectations and improving the purchasing power of workers, among which The possibility of opening the discussion of salary agreements in advance and the creation of a basic food basket made up of between 50 and 60 products stand out.

It was within the framework of a new meeting held this Tuesday by the Ministers of Economy, Martín Guzmán; of Labor, Claudio Moroni; and Productive Development, Matías Kulfas; and the Chief of Cabinet of the Ministry of Economy Melina Mallamace; with representatives of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) in the framework of the tripartite work table created last week to coordinate actions aimed at dealing with inflation.

Representing the union sector were the general secretaries of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), Héctor Daer, Pablo Moyano and Carlos Acuña, together with the entity’s Deputy General Secretary, Andrés Rodríguez.

Participating in the meeting on behalf of the manufacturing entity was its president, Daniel Funes de Rioja, together with the entity’s secretary, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez; the Regional Vice President, Guillermo Moretti; and the Executive Director, Diego Coatz.

Measurement details

The agreed measures contemplate the possibility of opening joint negotiations before the dates stipulated by each sector, while the parties ratified the decision to agree on a basic basket with 50 or 60 essential products at affordable prices, whose implementation should be defined in within 72 hours.

Specifically, the Government, businessmen and trade unionists agreed to open the negotiation of wage agreements that have not yet expired or are not in the negotiating stage.

They also agreed to form working groups to design and implement the measures to manage the difficulties of the current situation, particularly with regard to the impact of inflation on SMEs.

They also agreed on the need to establish a basic food basket, made up of between 50 and 60 products, which have a clear price in the different marketing formats, especially in nearby stores.

At the end of the meeting held at the Ministry of Economy, they also signed a new commitment document, just like last week.

AGREEMENT TO STRENGTHEN THE REAL INCOME OF WORKERS

The Government, the #CGT and the #UIA They agreed on measures to improve the purchasing power of wages, take care of the basic consumer basket, preserve economic reactivation and anchor expectations.

The record ? pic.twitter.com/GwT5YmzzFG

– National Ministry of Economy (@Economia_Ar) April 5, 2022

“The parties gathered agreed on the need to agree on actions to address local economic difficulties, aggravated by the conflict in Ukraine, in order to improve the purchasing power of wages, take care of the basic consumer basket of Argentines and preserve the reactivation of the economy,” says the document.

“With the aim of improving the purchasing power of wages, the CGT requests that, in the face of the possible evolution of the cost of living in the framework of this exceptional situation, the opening of negotiation of those wage agreements that have not yet been expired or are not in the negotiating stage”, details one of the points in the minutes.

Another point in the document states that “additionally, it was agreed that under the current global scenario there are significant tensions in the supply chain, access to key inputs, logistics and energy supply at the international level. Therefore, the parties agree to form tables of work to design and implement the measures tending to manage the difficulties of the current situation, in particular with regard to the impact on SMEs”.

This Tuesday’s meeting was a continuation of the meetings that took place on March 28 and 31 at the request of President Alberto Fernández, with the aim of establishing a dialogue table and social agreement aimed at aligning expectations and strengthening the productive reactivation in a way articulated with the creation of formal employment and the improvement in the real income of the population.

The CGT requested that in view of the possible rise in prices, in the framework generated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “the opening of negotiation of those salary agreements that have not yet expired or are not in the negotiating stage be anticipated.”

This position was endorsed by the UIA “in the understanding that social dialogue allows for the generation of appropriate policies for economic development with social inclusion, and that the fixing of wages through collective bargaining is the appropriate tool to achieve an increase in remuneration”, according to the minutes signed at the close of the meeting.

Both trade unionists and businessmen agreed that “under the current circumstances (of inflation) there are significant dispersions in the prices of food and other products of the basic basket.”

These dispersions “are recorded both at the territorial level and in different marketing formats” and that is why the government will present in the next three days “a basket of basic necessities, made up of between 50 and 60 products, which have a clear price in the different marketing formats, which will be widely distributed” and which will be complementary to the Care Prices program.

UIA and the CGT made explicit their commitment to carry out a “wide dissemination campaign in order to strengthen the price reference in the population”, once the basic food basket has been launched.