Argentine President Javier Milei has classified the aviation sector as an “essential service” and ordered carriers to maintain at least 50% of service in case of a strike or other work stoppage.
Milei: Argentinan Carriers Must Maintain Minimum Service During Strike
Since assuming office, Milei has been in confrontation with flagship Aerolineas Argentinas carrier and the unions representing its employees. Parliament blocked his attempts to private the beleaguered carrier, but he has continued his austerity campaign in an effort to curb inflation, which currently stands at 237% per year.
Federico Sturzenegger, Minister for Deregulation and State Transformation outlined the new policy:
- unions must give a five-day notice ahead of a strike
- a commission will decide which flights will be impacted
- if the commission (which includes airline, union, and government officials) cannot decide on which routes will operate, the Ministry of Labor will
- at least 50% of flights must continue to operate
Pablo Biro, head of the Airline Pilots’ Association, called Milei’s decree “illegitimate and illegal” and said the only valid justification for curbing a strike would be a threat to health or human life.
Workers at Aerolineas Argentinas are seeking a 30-35% raise to keep up with the soaring cost of living. Thus far, the airline has only offered a 14% raise. Meanwhile, the carrier continues to lose money and has also faced funding cutbacks from the government.
Argentina’s Parliament could overrule this executive decree.
CONCLUSION
These numbers are staggering. I won’t comment further beyond saying that whether or not Milei’s austerity measures ever produce a Thatcher-like effect over time, I truly feel for the airline workers there. Trying to survive on wages that low with inflation that high seems…impossible. However it happens, I hope for a future day of prosperity in beautiful Argentina.
image: @OPRArgentina / X
According to your friend Ben from OMMAT, Aerolineas Argentinas still have a fax machine onboard. That says a lot about the airline.
I was in Brazil in April, and a massive Bolsonaro rally was being held in Copacabana. They spent about as much time cheering for Milei as they did for Bolsonaro. I don’t know if these right wing people will ever fix anything, but rest assured, if you own a flag factory, they’re keeping business booming for you.
We Brazilians call those Bolsonaro fans “cattle”. They are evangelical religious fanatics, who make up a third of the Brazilian population, who do what their bishop orders. Bishops generally ultra millionaires with the money of those poor ignorant people.
They believe they are patriots but they support corrupt thieves like Bolsonaro and his family.
Really sad.
It’s worth noting that Milei isn’t really a religious conservative, someone who cares deeply about culture wars and so on. His focus is on the economic stuff above anything else.
Argentina may be going through a difficult time, but I think that the Fernandez presidency, irrespective of its performance on COVID or the economy, was rather successful in marginalising the hard left and other toxic elements within peronism. Equally, people may like or dislike Milei’s policies, but I don’t get the impression that many adore or hate him on a personal level (as would be the case with Trump or Bolsonaro). As a result, I think that things will get better in terms of the quality of democratic institutions etc. However, the economy does need time and painful adjustments to become sustainable.
Javier Milei is a genius and will turn Argentina around into an economic powerhouse in the comping years…
+1
You have to put things in context. In Argentina, the air market is not free. Aerolineas Argentinas has an almost absolute monopoly on domestic flights. And the unions involved, in reality, are fighting to maintain that monopoly; which obviously gives them a lot of power and perks. In the past they have left thousands of passengers without flying due to the sole attempt of previous governments to open the market. Many workers ended up harmed by this monopoly.