Last Wednesday, Resolution 2022-388 was published in the Official Gazette, in which the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security summoned 26 unions and their respective sectoral chambers for joint negotiations. The Government aims to mobilize unions and companies to quickly resolve wage adjustments.

In this way, it seeks to counteract the impact of rising inflation on the income of Argentines and thus prevent a massive drop in consumption. It was that though last year most salaries are recovered by a few points of purchasing power, in 2022 prices are clearly ahead.

So far, one can only analyze what happened in January, when only the private sector achieved a salary adjustment above CPI, but the inflation figure for February (4.6%) and March (it is expected at 6%), They expect an unfavorable situation for salaries.

What will the unions ask for?

So far there is not much definition from the workers’ side – certainly the sectors that are most behind in their negotiations have been called – but In general, we are talking about adjustment requests of up to 50%, with the possibility of future changes, depending on how inflation evolves.

One of the strongest unions called by the Government, the Construction Workers Union of the Argentine Republic (Uocra) agreed last month of a further 6.2% adjustment to the joint agreement signed in 2021-2022, thus reaching the total annual adjustment and 54%. Now, they must sit down to negotiate to determine the scales for the next twelve months.

Based on this background, it can be assumed that the bargaining base, at least from the union side, This will be 54% per year. What is clear is the Uocra will seek for the first time an agreement in just three months, to return to negotiations with traders. This was announced by Gerardo Martínez, leader of the union.

For his part, the president of the Argentine Chamber of Construction, Gustavo Weiss, expects that from the entity they estimate an inflation. close to 50% for this year, indicating that this will be the starting percentage to negotiate.

The other strong union called by the Government, the Truckers, is more than just determining the percentage and all indications are that it was one of the last to sign. Ricardo Letard, the union’s deputy secretary, indicated that talks would only begin next week and noted that “Truck drivers always prefer to negotiate late, to agree on a higher percentage set in other sectors ”.

Another weight sector for the national economy is restaurants and hotels. In his case, negotiations usually take place in June of each year, so there is still no notion of percentage. In the most recent negotiations, the Union The Workers of Tourism, Hotel and Gastronomy of the Republic of Argentina (Uthgra), agreed with employers an annual adjustment of 49%. The 14% adjustment scheduled for the May-June period still remains to be applied, but after a call by the Government, another previous increase or the advancement of said remaining percentage cannot be left out.

In the area of ​​private health, a salary agreement of at least 54% can also be expected. It is that the Federation of Associations of Health Workers (Fatsa) and the Argentine Confederation of Private Clinics, Sanatoriums and Hospitals (Confeclisa) recently signed a new agreement corresponding to the 2021 Peer Review Clause. which brings the total adjustment period that went to 54 %.

stable position

In other words, unions representing construction, private health, and ground transportation They came from the signing of agreements equivalent to inflationwhile gastronomics still have room to achieve a reorganization of the final agreement.

So, it can be expected that this year they will find the same thing, but with adjustments or approaching “renegotiation” dates, to avoid incompatibility with inflation.

YN