The historic power of Hugo Moyano and his clan in cargo transport faces an unprecedented threat against the scheme of greater labor freedom promoted by the Government of Javier Milei. Business chambers from ten provinces are advancing with regional agreements tailored to each economy, replacing the national model controlled for decades by Truckers.
The decision was agreed upon by business representatives gathered in Córdoba at the end of June and will be formally presented during the assembly that the Argentine Federation of Business Entities of Cargo Transport will hold on July 21 in Buenos Aires City.
Hugo and Pablo Moyano, in check
Among the entities promoting the initiative are chambers from San Juan, Mendoza, Jujuy, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, and Córdoba. The goal is to use the national collective agreement 40/89 as a reference, but allow each province or region to negotiate salaries, categories, and working conditions according to its own economic and productive reality.
The projected scheme would have a base of ten points, significantly fewer than the approximately 50 items currently included, and would begin negotiations in September. Business representatives clarified that the modification would not imply a reduction in the take-home pay of workers.
“Today, we all pay a salary agreed upon in Buenos Aires and some of us live in provinces in crisis; it is impossible to maintain that structure,” explained one of the dissenting representatives of FADEEAC. He also stated that the business determination has already been made and that the chambers from the interior do not plan to backtrack.
The Government managed to pass the Labor Modernization Law in February
The rebellion was made possible by Law 27.802 of Labor Modernization promoted by the Milei administration, which modified the collective bargaining system. The regulation allows for smaller agreements, such as regional or business agreements, to prevail over national agreements corresponding to an entire activity.
The change represents a direct blow against the old Argentine union model, built around centralized negotiations, monopolistic union structures, and mandatory contributions. The possibility for each company or region to establish its own conditions reduces the pressure capacity of large union leaderships and forces their leaders to compete for the representation of workers.
The CGT fears the dissolution of its extortionate power
The concern has reached the leadership of the CGT, where they fear that the precedent of freedom in transport workers will extend to other activities. In addition, there is the limitation of the so-called solidarity quotas, which now have a cap of 2% of the salary and a maximum validity of two years. Truckers currently maintain a contribution of 3%, one of the highest in the union system.
The government's labor reform thus begins to break one of the main mechanisms of power of traditional extortionist unionism. Decentralization would allow for agreements that are closer to the reality of each province, while forcing union leaderships to abandon their historical coercion and demonstrate that they truly represent their members.
