Argentine officials continue their strike and protests over mass layoffs

The Association of State Workers (ATE), the largest union of public workers in Argentina, carried out this Friday a new day of protest and strike against the massive layoffs in the public sector carried out by the Government of ultra-liberal Javier Milei.

Protesters gathered after noon. in the center of Buenos Aires and their march ended at the doors of the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, near the Casa Rosada, headquarters of the Argentine Executive.

A strong security device was deployed in the center of the Argentine capital, since there have already been incidents between the protesters and the police officers. some tense moments.

In addition, ATE called its members to a strike throughout the country. The general secretary of the union, Rodolfo Aguiar, has described the strike as “forceful” in a message published on his profile on the social network X.

Aguiar has also asked the Milei Executive to publish a list identifying workers who, according to the Government, are not “providing services” that correspond to them as part of the public sector.

“If the Government does not publish a list of the alleged ‘gnocchi’ (colloquial and derogatory term by which this type of workers is known), it has to determine the reinstatement and immediate payment of salaries to all those dismissedbecause up to this point it has not been able to prove in any case the invoked cause of ‘non-provision of services'”, according to the general secretary of ATE.

Once March is over, The Milei Government did not renew 15,000 contracts in the public sector, a figure much lower than the 70,000 layoffs with which the president even speculated.

“It is becoming clear that the Government never carried out audits or surveys and that it did not verify the assignment of functions to each agent (…) At this time “There is a serious impact on the rule of law in our country”Aguiar has denounced in X.

This Friday’s protest was second that ATE stars this weekon Wednesday several of its members demonstrated in front of the headquarters of various organizations and carried out the “takeover” of some public buildings.

The presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, considered that these events are “images of an absolutely decadent Argentina that we are leaving behind” and described as “untimely” the strikes in various unions that occur every week in the South American country.

Asked if the Milei Government takes gender quotas into account when dealing with layoffs, the spokesperson downplayed this fact and assured that each job “is occupied by the best, the most capable and the What more qualities does it have”: “Be it a man, a woman, a transvestite or any other definition you can bring here to the question”.