This Monday the mandatory conciliation in the metallurgical conflict expires. The Ministry of Labor of the Nation will be the area where the leaders of the UOM and the businessmen of the Steel Chamber led by the Techint Group will meet.
Until now, the steel companies have been refusing the request of the UOM, pushed by the wage fight of the metallurgists. Let us remember that after strikes and marches an agreement was reached with the majority of the employers’ chambers. An increase that does not solve the salary arrears that the sector drags but showed the strength of the bases and achieved more than what the companies offered. But Techint has been “stepping on” the parity of branch 21, which brings together more than 15 thousand workers from the Siderca, Ternium, Siderar, Acindar plants, among others.
Despite the profits that the big steel companies have, they remain determined to prevent workers from recovering their real wages, which they have lost to inflation. But they also want to continue keeping an ever-larger part of the wealth generated in the large tube, sheet and construction-supply plants. Many of the plants work for the big oil companies, construction companies and have come to receive the business of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline (1.8 billion dollars).
Some say that behind the business intransigence there is also a tussle between Paolo Rocca (Techint) and the “new” leadership of the UOM. But the truth is that Abel Furlán (Siderca Campana) and Naldo Brunelli (Siderar San Nicolás) have known the businessman for a long time. Their differences cannot be denied at this moment, but it seems that the business concern points more to the rebellion of the metallurgical bases that come from a historic strike and a mobilization to the company headquarters in Retiro.
In these days of conciliation, the leadership of the UOM did not call assemblies or other measures. Undoubtedly, it would have helped to “convince” the employers that if they do not give in to their intransigence, they will suffer the consequences. But in addition to discussing all the claims of the branch, such as the attacks that Acindar has been carrying out, the flexibility that Siderar is advancing or the precarious contracts at SIAT and the rest of the plants where outsourcing is also a hallmark of the “T”.
In the next few hours the result of the negotiation will be known. The Ministry cannot continue issuing mandatory conciliations that favor companies and the UOM will have to put all the force of the strike and the necessary measures if it wants to defend the worker’s pocket.
I followed all the metallurgical news in La Izquierda Diario.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
