“The Confederación General del Trabajo has called a general strike on 24th January to oppose Melei’s proposals for labour law reform and privatisation. We send our full solidarity to the CGT and all of those taking strike action.”
By Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America & the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
The election of far-right Javier Milei as President of Argentina represents a clear and present danger to Argentinian trade unions, their members, the wider working class and indeed the overwhelming majority of Argentinian people.
President Milei’s central economic policy of “anarcho-capitalism” is an extreme variant of “neo-liberalism” or “monetarism” – economic policies that for the past forty years have facilitated the global transfer of wealth from working people to the super-rich and the corporate sector.
An essential and enduring feature of these policies is the restriction or even elimination of labour rights; usually a restriction on the right to organise, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike. This fits in with Milei’s agenda of saying that protestors should face either “prison or bullet.” He is also known to have the country’s women’s and environmental movements in his sights, just as the far-right Bolsonaro Presidency did in Brazil.
Early on, the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) trade union centre has achieved a major victory over the President when the courts suspended the labour law reform, part of the Melei’s “mega-decree” on economic restructuring.
These “reforms” included an extension of workers’ probationary period from three to eight months, a reduction in the amount of compensation payable for unfair dismissal and a reduction in the time allowable for maternity leave. However, victory in the courts is not enough, Melei is to appeal the judgement – and the fight will continue in workplaces and communities across the country.
It is no doubt also a precursor of great struggles to come across many sectors against a presidency which threatens authoritarianism, climate change denial, extreme austerity and social discrimination.
The CGT has called a general strike on 24th January to oppose Melei’s proposals for labour law reform and privatisation. We send our full solidarity to the CGT and all of those taking strike action, and pledge to support all those resisting the far-right offensive.
Their fight is our fight.
Statement initiated by Campaign for Trade Union Freedom and Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America
Initial signatories include:
Diane Abbott MP
Apsana Begum MP
Richard Burgon MP
Ian Byrne MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Kenny MacAskill MP (ALBA party)
Rachael Maskell MP
Stuart McDonald MP (SNP)
John McDonnell MP
Grahame Morris MP
Kate Osborne MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Baroness Christine Blower
Baroness Frances O’Grady
Lord John Hendy KC
Lord Tony Woodley
Gawain Little, GFTU General Secretary
Dr. Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary
Matt Wrack, General Secretary, Fire Brigades Union
Mick Whelan, ASLEF General Secretary
Maryam Eslamdoust, TSSA General Secretary
Sarah Woolley, BFAWU General Secretary
Andrea Bradle, General Secretary, Educational Institute of Scotland
Joe Simpson, Deputy General Secretary, Prison Officers’ Association
Alex Gordon, RMT President
Andy Green, Chair, Unite the Union EC
Judith Kirton Darling – Acting Joint General Secretary, IndustriALL Europe
Jess Barnard, Labour NEC member
Gemma Bolton, Labour NEC member
Mish Rahman, Labour NEC member
Mohammad Suhail, Young Labour International Officer
Lindsey German, Stop the War Coalition
Kate Hudson, CND
Fiona Edwards, No Cold War and Eyes on Latin America
Prof. Keith Ewing, President, Institute of Employment Rights
Emeritus Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, LSE
Dr Julie Hearn, Senior Lecturer, Lancaster University & UCU NEC
Ben Chacko, Morning Star
Monica del Pilar Uribe Marin, The Prisma
Mike Phipps, Labour Hub
Marcus Barnett, Tribune
Matt Willgress, Labour Outlook
- You can add your name to the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom and Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America statement in support of the general strike against far-right President Milei here.
- You can follow the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom on Twitter here and Facebook here.
- You can follow Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America on Facebook and Twitter.
- This statement was originally published by the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom.
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