UTA failed in the wage negotiation with the companies and the mandatory conciliation period expired
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The Unión Tranviarios Automotor (UTA) announced a total bus strike across the country for 24 hours on Tuesday, May 6, after weeks of stalled negotiations with sector companies and following the expiration of the mandatory conciliation period dictated by the National Government. The measure will affect short and medium distance services from 00:00 hours and reflects the actions of a union leadership that, once again, resorts to extortionate methods to impose its agenda.
The root of the conflict lies in a wage disagreement: the UTA demands to raise the drivers' basic salary from $1,200,000 to $1,700,000, a 41.6% increase amid a deficit-ridden transportation scheme artificially sustained by frozen fares since August and multimillion-dollar subsidies. The business proposal —which included a less than 6% pay improvement starting in June and staggered non-remunerative bonuses of $40,000 on May 26, $50,000 on June 16, and $70,000 on July 15— was flatly rejected by the union, which labeled it as "a lack of respect."
El gremio reclama aumentar el salario de los choferes medio millón de pesos más.
"The workers' dignity is being trampled," denounced the union in a statement, in which it also accused the companies of refusing to present a concrete offer. The last hearing, held on Wednesday, was attended by leaders Roberto Fernández, Jorge Kiener, Luis Arcando, and Francisco Valdez, who confirmed the strike after verifying the failure of the mandatory labor conciliation process, activated since March 7.
However, from the business sector, the explanations were blunt: the inherited fare model and poorly designed subsidies make any increase unfeasible. Gustavo Larrea, secretary of the Federación Argentina de Transportadores por Automotor de Pasajeros (FATAP), warned that "no proposal can be made" due to the lack of funds and denounced that the system operates with a 40% deficit, resulting from the huge gap between real costs and revenues.
Comunicado oficial de la UTA.
The situation of urban transport clearly illustrates the collapse of the prebendary state model that Milei set out to dismantle. According to data from the Asociación Argentina de Empresarios del Transporte Automotor (AAETA), the real cost of a ticket without subsidies was $1,596.40 in March, while the user paid just $371.13, with an average income for companies of $973.76 per ticket. Price distortions and the freezing of national fares prevent any financial balance.
In this context, it is revealing that the mafia-like unionists insist on a monthly increase that far exceeds the projected inflation, currently contained around 3% or 4% monthly. Even more concerning is the union's stance, which dismisses the critical situation of the system and chooses to paralyze the country, affecting millions of workers who depend on public transport to get around.
The National Government, through the Ministry of Human Capital and the Labor Secretariat, attempted to mediate between the parties. Guido Arocco, secretary of conciliation, unsuccessfully led the hearings. Nevertheless, true to its commitment to deregulation and the freedom of negotiation between private parties, the Executive keeps its decision not to intervene directly in a discussion that belongs to market actors. The solution, official sources affirm, doesn't involve more state spending, but rather making fares transparent and leaving behind decades of failed interventionism.
