State unions held a surprise protest on Monday morning by blocking lanes at the tollbooth on the Córdoba–Carlos Paz highway. The strike action is causing major delays in vehicular traffic and is affecting circulation toward the tourist valleys of Punilla and the south. Motorists are enduring long waits to move forward toward Traslasierra and Calamuchita in the middle of the summer season because of the union roadblock.
Roberto Cristalli, head of UEPC, explained that the action seeks to draw attention to the union's demands at a strategic point in the province. The protest began at 10 in the morning and lasted for 2 hours, disrupting the flow of private and freight vehicles on the highway. Córdoba Police are working at the scene and have asked drivers to proceed with extreme caution due to the lane reduction.
The union leader denounced the lack of dialogue with the provincial government and emphasized that all 23 state unions are participating together. The central demand targets the fiscal adjustment policies that the local administration is implementing to clean up the red public accounts. The unions are demanding the reopening of collective bargaining and are rejecting the austerity measures, late, necessary, but not sufficient, to balance the provincial public deficit.
