The Argentine soy oil workers’ union strike stretched into a fourth day on Friday. The industrial action, which began on Tuesday, is primarily affecting port terminals in northern Rosario. The halt in activity is incurring a daily cost of nearly US$10 million dollars, while around 20 ships are waiting to be loaded.

Argentine soy complex exports have been slow in 2024, despite the harvest recovering from a punishing drought in 2023. Unions have accused businesses of pushing for the government to devalue the peso again before selling.

“Management representatives maintain that our salary is high because, fundamentally, they want to keep destroying it until it’s just enough to pay for food for us and our families,” said the SOEA soy oil workers’ union and the FTCIODyARA soy complex workers’ union in a joint statement on Thursday. 

“They yearn for the 1990s, when neoliberal policies demolished national industry and kept workers in a situation close to poverty. We fought for 20 years to get out of that situation.”

Unions are calling for the monthly wage in the sector to be increased to AR$1.55 million (US$1,618 at the official rate, US$1,194 at the MEP rate) for July. This would entail a 26% increase, but employers are offering 17%, the unions say.

Business associations have condemned the union’s demands and disagree with the protests. 

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“Another day without being able to work normally across the entire industry and without the union leaders showing any interest in returning to the negotiating table,” said the Argentine Soy Oil Industry Chamber (CIARA, by its Spanish initials). “Avoiding negotiations will only lead to lower wages for the soy oil community because their pay will be docked for each day [of the strike].”

Business representatives said that “thousands of freight workers have lost workdays and the country is losing credibility as a food supplier due to these senseless measures.”

The unions say the strike started after they failed to reach an agreement despite three weeks of meetings. They added that business owners “only delayed the dialogue because they have time; we don’t.”

Companies say workers have received a 77% salary increase during a period in which inflation reached 79%. They are also offering a 12% increase in August and a further 5% in September, leading to a total increase of 94% by September 2024, which they say would clearly beat inflation.

-Ámbito/Herald